The Frost/Black review addressing long-term sickness absence can help drive UK growth, but SMEs are core, says John Letizia.
It is undoubtedly positive that the government has accepted the vast majority of the report’s recommendations and employers will take heart from these encouraging signs.
The next question is the extent to which the response will be supported by fiscal measures in the forthcoming Budget, specifically around the issue of tax relief for intervention and rehabilitation efforts. It is understandable that in the current economic climate the government would want to wait until the Budget before making such tax decisions.
Given the success of private providers’ rehabilitation programmes in cutting absence costs and getting employees back to work when they are ready, many employers will be hoping that the government will accept the Frost/Black tax relief recommendations at the end of March.
The government’s response to the review focused heavily on the establishment of a new Independent Assessment Service. This is an important and worthwhile recommendation, and it will be interesting to see whether the service receives employer backing – the pilot schemes would be fundamental in this area.
scope for partnerships
On a practical level, there is still scope for further partnership between the government and employers. The introduction of pensions auto-enrolment has shown that the workplace is the best route to deliver financial protection and proved what can be achieved when government and employers work together.
The reality is that effective sickness absence management is an unglamorous but fundamental issue of good business administration, and make no mistake, it will be small businesses who are most affected by this.
When it comes to absence management, large corporates and multinationals have the huge advantage of scale. With dedicated HR teams, the ability to reach and attract the broadest possible talent pool and a healthy cashflow, large companies are typically far better placed to absorb the loss of a skilled and experienced worker to a period of sickness absence.
Equally, they will often have the resources and expertise to invest in intervention and rehabilitation services to support staff members back into work where possible.
