This year it falls on Monday 15 January 2024, and whilst the origins of Blue Monday are said to have been started by a travel agency as a marketing campaign to make us buy more holidays, mental health and absence is an ongoing challenge for many care organisations.
For care organisations, absence represents a significant cost – there could be occupational health costs, the cost of overtime or temporary cover for your absent workers, as well as sick pay.
Frequent sickness absence can also have some indirect costs too such as:
Low morale – colleagues may have to pick up the absent employee’s tasks, increasing their workload
Low productivity – if employees are calling in sick frequently, it could mean projects don’t progress quickly, even colleagues who rarely take sick days can find themselves with low levels of motivation if other colleagues are regularly off sick.
Possible increase in mistakes – if employees are picking up other people’s work they might make mistakes from having a higher workload or not knowing the ins and outs of the role. This can be a significant problem for care homes who need to maintain high levels of care.
Managing absence effectively is a balance between supporting your employees with their health issues and their return to work.
Apart from taking annual leave, workers may need time off for a number of reasons, whether it’s due to short-term sickness or longer-term health issues.
Sickness absence levels are at a 10-year high so it’s important to understand the reasons for absence in the first instance, some examples include:
Short term sickness – i.e. a minor illness such as cold, flu, stomach bug etc. and more recently COVID-19.
Taking time off for dependants – caring responsibilities for children.
Unauthorised absences – when an employee doesn’t come into work, doesn’t let their employee know and/or gives no reason for their absence.
Time off because of domestic issues such as a broken-down car, although it’s important to note there’s no statutory right to time off for this but you could agree with your employees to take unpaid leave or time in lieu at a later date.
Bereavement or compassionate leave – parents who lose a child under the age of 18, or suffer a stillbirth after 24 weeks, are entitled to 2 weeks Parental Bereavement Leave, and Statutory Bereavement Leave Pay if they meet the qualifying conditions. In other cases most employers have a policy for bereavement leave and may agree some paid or unpaid time off.
The best starting point for managing sickness absences is to begin monitoring and recording absences so you know what you’re dealing with and to identify possible trends. You could use an online HR information system such as Breathe HR to do this.
A clear sickness absence policy is an essential tool – it clearly sets out how your care home manages sickness in line with your culture and objectives and explains your employees’ rights and obligations if they’re off sick.
Carry out return to work interviews after each absence, regardless of how long an employee was off for. Interviews should be held on their first day back (or as near to it as possible) and be held by a line manager or someone from your HR team.
They can also help you identify absence problems at an early stage and what you as an employer can do to prevent them and support your employee.
If the absence continues and becomes longer term, it would be sensible to obtain medical evidence such as an occupational health assessment to learn about their diagnosis, prognosis and timescales to return to work and if there’s anything you can do to assist their return.
Stress, anxiety and depression was one of the biggest reasons for to absence in 2023, with 76% of respondents having taken time off work due to stress in the past year* CIPD.
Working in care can be a stressful, demanding and physically exhausting role, what are you doing to look after your workers health & well-being? Do you offer things like private medical insurance, an employee assistance programme to support with mental health, encourage regular breaks and using the full amount of holiday allowance. Improving mental health and well-being benefits everyone and in turn can help reduce absence rates.
For any questions around HR and how, working with our partners we can provide a suite of solutions, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01273 424904 and speak to our People team.
Our HR and H&S partner, Primed describe their mission as one to empower business owners and their teams with expert advice and personal support, so they’re Primed and ready to manage their people and Health & Safety compliance with confidence.
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