LML Recruitment

Source - Sky News

"The average worker has 10 unscheduled days off work per year and absenteeism costs the UK a staggering £32bn each year, according to recent data."

Across the pond the average employee takes 5.5 days off per year in addition to their holiday allowance. "The UK number is also twice as high compared to Asia Pacific, where workers take 4.5 days off. However, Britain is on par with the rest of Europe which has a similar average of 9.7 unscheduled days off per year. The research comes at a time when the Government is conducting a major review of sickness absence. With the average UK salary around £25,000, absenteeism is costing British businesses £32bn per year. The figure reflects direct cost of absence and does not take into account potential replacement costs and lost productivity." Three-quarters of claimants who apply for sickness benefit are found fit to work or drop their claims before they are completed, according to official figures. Source - ITN "Over a 22-month period, 887,300 of the 1,175,700 applicants for employment and support allowance (ESA) - the successor to to the old incapacity benefit - failed to qualify for any assistance. Of those 458,500 - 39 per cent - were judged fit to work while a further 428,800 - 36 per cent - abandoned their claim before their medical assessment had been completed, according to the figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Employment Minister Chris Grayling said they underlined the need to reassess people still on the old incapacity benefit - a process which the Government began rolling out last month.
"Once again we have clear evidence of the need for change in our welfare system," Mr Grayling said.

"We now know very clearly that the vast majority of new claimants for sickness benefits are in fact able to return to work. That's why we are turning our attention to existing claimants, who were simply abandoned on benefits. We will, of course, carry on providing unconditional support to those who cannot work, but for those who can it's right and proper that they start back on the road to employment." "