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News Article - 23 May 2012
Category: Business

The Government is to conduct a review into sickness absence as part of its welfare reforms.

The review, led by Dame Carol Black, is to consider whether some employees suffering from ill health could remain in the workplace with the right support and help.

Ben Willmott, senior policy adviser for the CIPD, said: "The Prime Minister is absolutely right when he says that a short spell of sickness can far too easily become a gradual slide into a lifetime of benefit dependency, and we welcome the weight he is throwing behind efforts to solve this seemingly intractable problem.

"The review can help shine a light on some of the obstacles that prevent companies from supporting employee wellbeing and managing absence effectively. For example, only a minority of small firms provide access to occupational health services for their staff even though evidence suggests such services are the most effective means of helping people with health problems back to work."

According to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) there are 180 million working days lost due to illness at a cost of around £17 billion a year. Long term sickness is even more of an issue for small and medium-sized enterprises who are affected by vastly reduced staffing and work productivity.

A host of measures are to be considered to remedy the number of benefit dependants by introducing credit schemes and benefit caps encouraging people to return to full health and earn a living. Trials are expected to run until at least March with the intention of extending the reach to those on incapacity benefits if the project proves successful.

This is all part of the Government's aim to ensure that people who show commitment to their job are better off than those who are unemployed due to ill-health but potentially employable.

The best way for businesses to analyse employee attendance levels is to use sophisticated HR software that supports every aspect of the employee lifecycle. Access business accounting software provides the tools for HR teams to streamline analysis of information such as sickness absence at the touch of a button.

For more information, please call Access on 0845 345 3300.

Article keywords: sickness absence review, welfare reforms, Dame Carol Black, Ben Willmott, CIPD, Confederation of British Industry, CBI, long term sickness, HR software, employee lifecycle, Access business accounting software

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