Health and Safety Executive

Save absence costs

Improving health and safety measures at the workplace reduces the likelihood that people will need to take sick leave.

Save money on the direct costs of absence. These include:

  • paying the salary of the absent employee
  • overtime incurred by other employees covering for the absent employee
  • loss of output incurred by the absent employee.

Save money on the indirect costs of absence. These include:

  • the time taken for a replacement to learn the new role and become productive
  • possible diminished services and product quality
  • loss of business, continuity and reputation
  • recruiting temporary or replacement staff
  • training and providing support to other staff.

The sooner you take positive action to reduce absence, the sooner your sick employee can return to work successfully and get on with helping you build your business.

Find out more in the HSE website Managing Absence and Return to Work.

The Workplace Well Being Tool is an online resource designed to help you to assess the cost of ill health and sickness rates in your business. It can provide you with a benchmark with which to measure the improvement of the health and well-being of people in your organisation.

Directgov - Business Link

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