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Businesses should ‘do more’ to reduce employee absence

Employers are being urged to take action to reduce staff sickness levels following the publication of a Government report this week.

In a study commissioned by MPs, Dame Carol Black, the national director for health and work, urged businesses to offer more support to workers suffering from ill health.

The report suggests firms should do more to facilitate flexible working, such as offering shorter working days and lighter duties, to assist employees with their return to work and thereby reduce Britain’s growing ‘sick note culture.’

Companies that employ large numbers of workers should do more to promote healthy living through subsidised gym membership, whilst the development of a new consultancy service would provide more support for smaller firms, the report claims.

‘We must act now to build on the emerging consensus around a new approach to health and work in Britain,’ argued Black.

Some 175 million working days are lost each year as a result of ill health, costing the UK economy an estimated £100 billion in lost productivity, benefits and taxes.