Employers should implement more flexible sickness absence policies, experts argue

Employers should reconsider their sickness absence policies and make them more flexible, a report by Lancaster University’s The Work Foundation has recently argued.

The paper estimated that two in five (40%) employees could suffer from a chronic or fluctuating condition by 2030. It also argues that for those living with conditions where the symptoms fluctuate – such as asthma, depression or rheumatoid arthritis – the quality of support received varies too much.

The report, named “Fluctuating Conditions, Fluctuating Support”, recommends developing a best practice database of adjustments and supports for people with fluctuating conditions, and improving access to specialist occupational health support.

Karen Steadman, senior researcher at The Work Foundation, said fluctuating health conditions are a threat to the resilience of UK businesses.

“The introduction of statutory part-time sick pay and growing income protection would go a long way to supporting those with fluctuating conditions,” she said. “However, it is essential that government also impacts upon workplace culture and practice, to ensure that employers fulfil their obligations to help employees.”

Time and attendance monitoring system can help streamline sickness absence management

A Tensor top-range employee attendance monitoring system can easily help employers set comprehensive policies to support employers in dealing with sickness absence.

The Tensor WinTA.NET integrated workforce management solution incorporates a dedicated Absence Planning and Entitlement Management feature. It comes pre-loaded with graphical calendar charts that provide a colourful way of viewing an individual’s or a department’s absence records.

Each employee can be allocated different entitlements for absence such as annual leave or allowed sickness. As absence is booked and taken, the remainder available for each entitlement is updated. Entitlement formulae are used to calculate more complex entitlements calculated on a rising scale based upon length of service.

If you’d like to find out more about the Tensor workforce management solutions, just contact our team or Book a Demo, we’ll be more than happy to answer all of your questions and queries.