Employment breakfast briefing: The unhealthy cost of staff absence

According to recent figures compiled by PwC, the annual cost to employers of sickness absence is just under £29 billion pounds, accounting for around 90% of the total absence bill. Put another way, a CIPD 2013 Survey found that the cost to an organisation of sickness absence per employee equates to around £535 per year.

Pro-actively managing sickness absence can only be a good thing. In light of these staggering figures we are delighted to invite you to our next breakfast briefing in which we will consider some of the more thorny issues involved in absence management. Join us over coffee and breakfast where we will be looking at the issues outlined below, as well as giving practical advice and tips on how to manage sickness absences:

• How should you handle and investigate short term absences? 
• When should you involve occupational health? 
• How far should you go to look into any personal issues which might be causing the absence? 
• At what point should you refer an employee on long term sick leave for an independent medical examination? 
• Can an employee ask to take accrued annual leave whilst off sick? 
• How far does the duty to make reasonable adjustments extend when trying to get someone back to work?

To register for this event email events@bdb-law.co.uk