More work needed to remove stigma
Alongside growth in hybrid working
From insurance broking to wellbeing consulting
Over a quarter of employers (27%) plan to signpost absent employees towards Fit for Work (FfW) in the absence of GP referrals.
Nearly a third of employers have reported an increase in people coming to work while they are ill.
More companies are reporting an increase in long-term absence, with two fifths seeing a rise, and a fifth seeing a fall, the largest increase in five years, a report has found.
Among British small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) 23% do not have an absence management system in place, research from Jelf Employee Benefits has found.
The average level of employee absence has fallen by a day to 6.6 days per employee in the last year, nearly a third report that rates have been affected by caring responsibilities, research has found.
Employees with high levels of stress have almost double the amount of absenteeism and more than twice the amount of Presenteeism, with 53% blaming stress levels on inadequate staffing.
Unison has criticised the government's "obsession with absence rates" after national statistics were published showing the number of absences per year had dropped by 40% since 1993.