When an absence becomes long term (4 weeks or longer), the chances of the employee’s return to work diminish rapidly. 1 in 5 will not return to work after just 4 weeks of absence (according to Health at Work 2011). As the absence continues, the barriers to return become higher.
One of the factors is a ‘fear of the unknown’ where returning to the workplace has become such a scary prospect that employees are intimidated by the idea and it is prolonging their absence. In many cases a long term absence spirals into a long term incapacity. Each year over 300,000 people in the UK fall out of work onto health-related state benefits (according to Health at Work 2011).
The odds are increasingly against the employer the longer a situation is left unmanaged. The chances of having a positive impact and the likelihood of achieving a return to work are better the earlier something is done to support recovery. Employers may think that there is little to be done to change the fact that someone has a medical condition. You can’t magically cure the employee and therefore their absence is inevitable. In many cases, however, the medical condition is not the main cause to be tackled. In a speech last year, Dame Carol Black shared results from a Fit For Work Scheme Pilot in Leicester: as you can see in the breakdown below, in 78% of cases the patient’s main problem was not a medical one.
Main barrier causing an absence of 4-6 weeks:
(Leicester Fit for Work Scheme pilot data)
1. Need for mediation / negotiation (38%)
2. Need to find new employment (23%)
3. Need for personal support (17%)
4. Musculoskeletal condition (15%)
5. Mental ill health (7%)
