Small businesses need more help in tackling sickness absence, says report
Published: 19 March 2009
Small businesses in Scotland need more help in dealing with sickness and absence, according a report published by researchers.
Small businesses in Scotland need more help in dealing with sickness and absence, according a report published by the University of Glasgow. Reducing unnecessary sickness absence can make the difference between business survival or failure, it says.
The report calls for a sickness absence recording tool (SART), developed by the Institute of Organisational Management for the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), to be made more widely available to SMEs and backed by better support systems provided by occupational health organisations.
The recommendations were made by researchers from the Health Working Lives Group at the University after evaluating the SART system which was piloted in 2006 and enables SMEs to record and analyse sickness absence in a database, compiling statistics and trends.
Dr Ewan MacDonald, Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Department of Public Health and Health Policy at the University of Glasgow and one of the authors of the report, said: “Sickness absence is a huge problem for SMEs in Scotland. It is a major cause of low efficiency within business and can lead to long-term incapacity and worklessness. For example, in Glasgow, 14.4% of the working age population are claiming Incapacity Benefit.
“Giving businesses access to a tool which enables them to identify employees who have recurring problems and to determine whether there is something within the work environment or processes that make people ill.”
The report ‘Managing Sickness Absence and Return to Work’, prepared by Dr Nundita Reetoo, Ms J Burrows and Dr Ewan MacDonald on behalf of the HSE, also highlights a need for greater training in sickness absence management for the SME sector.
Data compiled as part of the study showed that the average number of days lost for per spell of absence was 2.89 for short-term and 52.01 for long-term absences. Anxiety/depression and cancer accounted for the majority of long-term sickness absence.
The report calls for a sickness absence recording tool (SART), developed by the Institute of Organisational Management for the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), to be made more widely available to SMEs and backed by better support systems provided by occupational health organisations.
The recommendations were made by researchers from the Health Working Lives Group at the University after evaluating the SART system which was piloted in 2006 and enables SMEs to record and analyse sickness absence in a database, compiling statistics and trends.
Dr Ewan MacDonald, Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Department of Public Health and Health Policy at the University of Glasgow and one of the authors of the report, said: “Sickness absence is a huge problem for SMEs in Scotland. It is a major cause of low efficiency within business and can lead to long-term incapacity and worklessness. For example, in Glasgow, 14.4% of the working age population are claiming Incapacity Benefit.
“Giving businesses access to a tool which enables them to identify employees who have recurring problems and to determine whether there is something within the work environment or processes that make people ill.”
The report ‘Managing Sickness Absence and Return to Work’, prepared by Dr Nundita Reetoo, Ms J Burrows and Dr Ewan MacDonald on behalf of the HSE, also highlights a need for greater training in sickness absence management for the SME sector.
Data compiled as part of the study showed that the average number of days lost for per spell of absence was 2.89 for short-term and 52.01 for long-term absences. Anxiety/depression and cancer accounted for the majority of long-term sickness absence.
For more information contact Stuart Forsyth in the University of Glasgow Media Relations Office on 0141 330 4831 or email s.forsyth@admin.gla.ac.uk
Click here to download a copy of the report.
First published: 19 March 2009
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