Workplace health: Occupational health
Reducing sickness absence
Work is essential to health, well-being and self-esteem. When ill health causes long-term sickness absence, a downward spiral of depression, social isolation and delayed recovery make returning to work less likely.
Reducing long-term sickness absence helps maintain a healthy and productive business and safeguards everyone’s jobs.
The Health and Safety Executive have identified six ways you can work with your employer and the workers you represent to help prevent long-term sickness absence becoming job loss, by:
- helping to identify measures to improve worker health and prevent it being made worse by work;
- suggesting that your employer develops workplace plans and policies on sickness absence management;
- helping to keep workers who are on sick leave in touch with work;
- helping your employer to plan adjustments that will enable sick workers to return to work;
- supporting sick workers to help them to return to work; and
- helping to promote understanding of health conditions and disability in the workplace.
Resources
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The Managing Sickness Absence website provides employers with comprehensive information on cost-effective approaches to managing short-term sickness absenteeism. |
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The SAM project is a new initiative offering a free software package, SART (Sickness Absence Recording Tool) which provides a straightforward way of recording, classifying and analysing absence. In addition, it gives advice and links to further information on addressing absence for the individual and at an organisational level. |
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The Managing sickness absence & return to work section of the Health and Safety Executive’s website also contains much valuable information, guidance and case studies. |
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The TUC's Work Smart website provides information on employees’ legal rights and duties, the obligations of your employer and shows how they can be enforced. |