The role of preventive health checks in reducing long-term absences

There isn't any official definition of long-term sickness absence, but research suggests that many UK employers regard long-term sickness absence as any absence lasting for four weeks or more. Of course, your company's definition of a long-term absence may vary depending on the number of employees your business has. A long-term sickness absence isn't just about duration; it should include an assessment of the potential impact on your staff. A larger company with a few hundred employees may feel less of an effect than an SME with a small team.

Understanding the potential causes of long-term sickness absence lets you assess the risk factors for your employees. There are likely risk factors associated with your work and employees' individual characteristics. We'll start by examining the types of ill health that can result in long-term sickness absence and how work can impact their development.

The Health and Safety Executive provides statistics detailing the most common illnesses resulting in workplace absence in the UK, as does the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Whilst the figures don't provide a separate statistical analysis showing which conditions result in long-term sickness absence, musculoskeletal disorders, chronic illnesses and mental health problems are the most common conditions causing workplace absence.

Musculoskeletal issues

Musculoskeletal issues are the third most common reason for sickness absence in the UK, representing 10.5% of lost work days. Problems with back, joint and other musculoskeletal pain can be classed as work-related ill health, particularly if your staff regularly engage in heavy work such as manual handling.

Chronic illnesses

Chronic conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, asthma or other respiratory illnesses, can potentially cause significant sickness absence. The last ONS report on working days lost due to ill health showed that respiratory conditions had overtaken mental health problems as a reason for absence for the first time.

Mental health problems

Finally, mental health issues represent 7.9% of all sickness absences in the UK and comprise a wide variety of conditions, from depression and anxiety to bipolar disorder and PTSD. Your staff may be at risk if you work in a high-stress profession, but any employee can be at risk of stress or burnout if they face unrelenting heavy workloads or work long hours without a break.

At the end of 2023, 2.8 million working-age people were economically inactive due to long-term sickness, an increase from the previous year and higher than analysts had predicted. Although this figure is lower in the latest report, long-term sickness absence has direct and hidden costs that can affect business growth.

Reduced productivity

If a team member is missing due to long-term sickness absence, it can affect productivity in various ways, depending upon the employee's job role. If an employee worked in an output-based role, this would likely directly affect productivity. However, every employee is a vital part of the chain.

If a manager is away due to ill health, this may impact planning and organisation. A manager also provides staff with vital support to help them perform at their best, navigate personal issues, and support employees' health and well-being. Their absence may have a knock-on effect on staff health or morale. Employees in administrative roles carry out essential functions to ensure operations keep running smoothly.

Long-term sickness absence can affect productivity in large corporations. Still, it's likely to be most keenly felt in a smaller business where there are fewer team members to absorb their absent colleague's workload.

Increased staff turnover

We've mentioned that the team members left behind during a colleague's absence must take on extra work. A heavier workload may not be an issue during quiet times but can significantly impact employee well-being during busy periods. Some workplace stress is normal, but it can become chronic if it continues in the long term. Employees who must work longer hours or meet higher targets to complete their work are at risk of burnout if those pressures continue without any sign of respite.

Ultimately, stress and burnout can mean employees decide to leave for other jobs, thereby increasing staff turnover. High turnover also means increased costs as businesses must recruit and train new employees.

Additional recruitment and staffing costs

Your business could face recruitment costs if staff leave due to the pressure of completing their colleague's work during their sickness absence. However, you may also recruit more staff to avoid increasing the burden on your existing employees. Taking this step requires careful consideration. Recruiting temporary staff on a fixed-term contract ensures you have adequate cover and avoids the increased costs associated with a permanent employee. However, finding employees with the right skills willing to take on a short-term contract can be challenging unless you're able to recruit someone already working as a freelancer.

Hiring a new permanent employee may be a better option, particularly if there's a chance your employee won't return from their absence. However, this only applies if your business can absorb the increased costs in the long term.

Loss of knowledge and expertise

Experienced employees have valuable expertise and skills that they may have acquired thanks to long service with your company or previous employment elsewhere. Those skills are vital in various ways, meaning losing them can significantly impact your business. They may have in-depth knowledge of your company's systems and processes or be a key mentor to new staff or those seeking career development. Their absence may mean tasks take longer or junior employees fail to reach their potential, impacting their progress and your ability to promote from within.

Other long-standing employees may have built relationships with important clients. They could have a formal role as a client relationships manager. Even if they don't, their absence impacts their customer service experience, which could mean you lose a loyal client.

Legal and compliance issues

Managing long-term sickness absence well is a skill and requires a careful and sensitive approach. If your team manage sickness absence poorly, it can expose your business to legal issues such as grievances, tribunal claims, or compliance issues. These can result in additional costs, including the time spent by staff dealing with claims or disputes and the associated legal and insurance costs of dealing with litigation. When dealing with long-term sickness absence, seeking HR input and providing management training to ensure staff are treated fairly is wise.

Challenges in long-term planning

Long-term sickness absence can create uncertainty, which impacts your ability to plan for the future. We've mentioned the impact on productivity and the need to decide whether to recruit additional staff on a temporary or permanent basis. A missing staff member could impact your ability to deliver work on time and create uncertainty when bidding for future projects or deciding to enter new markets, thereby reducing your business's capacity for growth.

Given time, an absent employee may be able to return to their previous job, but they may also need to change to a new role, an altered schedule, or require reasonable adjustments. Future planning can be challenging if it's unclear what role will be suitable or whether they'll return to work. This can impact your ability to decide whether to hire new staff, promote or train existing team members. A lack of career progression may increase staff turnover and ultimately affect succession planning.

We've discussed how long-term sickness impacts your business and employees who remain at work. Now, let's consider the effect of extended sick leave on employees. An employee may become absent for various reasons, but the absence can cause repercussions that further affect their physical and mental well-being.

Financial pressure

One of the obvious practical consequences of long-term sickness is the potential financial loss. Depending on your company's sick pay policy, they may face an immediate financial loss or anticipate a drop in income as the length of their absence increases. Statutory sick pay (SSP) is £118.75 per week and is available for up to 28 weeks. It's significantly lower than the UK minimum wage, meaning your employees will face a dramatic drop in their income if they receive SSP. Your business may offer full pay initially but reduce payments at key points as an absence continues. Employees will likely feel stressed or under pressure to return to work as their income decreases.

Financial pressure can result from several sources. Employees may be unable to pay their usual living expenses and take on debt to fund necessities. A reduced income can impact their ability to save for the future and lead to a change in their retirement plans. Financial strain can affect the quality of life for employees and their families. Employees with young families will likely have made decisions based on their ability to fund childcare. Research suggests that 73% of working parents have taken a pay cut or reduced their working hours due to a need for greater flexibility in the face of unaffordable childcare costs, while 70% are considering leaving work to reduce these costs. Suppose an employee is the sole income earner for their family in these circumstances. In that case, a stay-at-home parent may need to return to the workforce for financial reasons but be unable to if their partner cannot work or care for children due to ill health.

Job insecurity or lack of career development

Employers can face challenging decisions when managing long-term sickness, as employees may be classed as disabled and require reasonable adjustments to return to work. Terminating a staff member's employment requires careful consideration to avoid a claim for disability discrimination or unfair dismissal. However, the reality is that an employee may not be able to return to work due to a lack of suitable alternative roles, meaning ill health causes reduced job security. It can also affect their ability to find work elsewhere if they disclose why they left their previous job.

An employee's illness can also impact their career development. If a team member would otherwise have been a suitable candidate for promotion within their department or the organisation as a whole, ill health may cause them to rethink their plans. However, it's vital that your leadership keeps an open mind and assesses their suitability for progression based on skills. Many organisations assume that employees who require an adjustment to their working patterns aren't good candidates for leadership roles, but this isn't necessarily the case. There's also a risk that managers will view employees who have been away for an extended period as unreliable. You must proceed carefully to avoid unfair discrimination. However, on a practical level, employees may miss out on opportunities for promotion if there's a fixed schedule for internal applications.

Poor mental health

As we've mentioned, mental health conditions account for 7.9% of sickness absences in the UK. It's also the leading cause of absence in employees aged 44 and under. While poor mental health can cause absence, long-term sickness absence can also result in declining mental health.

An absence from work can lead to loneliness, isolation and low self-esteem. Work can provide a daily routine that helps give employees a sense of purpose and provides contact with others, which supports mental well-being. Appropriate regular contact during absence can help to reduce the feeling of isolation.

If an employee is absent due to physical health issues, their mental health may also suffer as a result. We've mentioned loneliness and isolation, but a physical condition can cause frustration if an employee cannot participate in activities they previously enjoyed. They may also experience anxiety around medical appointments, treatment and tests or experience sleep disturbance.

Financial worries can be stressful, and an absent team member may worry that they won't be able to return to their previous job. The idea of returning to work can also be stressful after long-term sickness. Employees may worry that their skills have declined during their absence or that they won't cope with full-time work. Discussing any worries and providing reasonable adjustments and a suitable return to work schedule can all help to ease the process.

A team member with a mental health issue may also have concerns about colleagues' reactions when they return. Managers should encourage employees to talk about their preferences. Some may value open discussion, while others prefer to focus on their work. You can then prepare the rest of the team and provide mental health training if required.

Preventive measures such as health assessments can help reduce the likelihood of long-term sickness absence by identifying risk factors and supporting employees to improve their health. Identifying staff members at particular risk of work-related ill health or other health issues is a valuable first step.

Some risk factors are work-related, while others arise from individual characteristics. Here are a few of the most common risk factors.

Work-related stress

Some occupations carry a high risk of work-related stress, such as healthcare professionals, police officers and social workers. However, any demanding job with long hours and heavy workloads can result in stress and burnout.

Heavy physical work

Heavy manual labour increases the risk of injury and musculoskeletal problems such as back pain. You must carry out a risk assessment for any tasks involving manual handling or the use of power tools to ensure you've put suitable preventive measures in place to reduce the risk of injury or work-related health issues.

Poor work-life balance

A poor work-life balance can be stressful. Employees working long hours to meet targets or cope with heavy workloads may feel they don't have time to spend with their loved ones or on activities they enjoy. Acting to reduce workloads and introduce flexible working can help employees create a positive work-life balance and reduce stress levels.

Age

As we age, our risk of illness and chronic conditions increases, meaning older workers are more likely to experience long-term sickness.

Pre-existing physical conditions

Employees with chronic conditions can often manage their illness with appropriate support. Some pre-existing conditions may also require management depending on the workplace environment and how this impacts their symptoms.

Preventive health checks can help reduce long-term absence in various ways. The benefits of health checks vary depending on what they examine. For example, a basic check might look at a patient's overall health, including height, weight, body mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Other, more comprehensive checks might also assess an employee's fitness levels or risk of chronic illness. The information health checks provide can support action by both employees and employers.

Benefits for employees

Health checks can support employees in considering how their lifestyle and working environment impact their health and make changes or request suitable adjustments. They can identify potential health issues early, allowing for early intervention, which can improve the prognosis and avoid or minimise their sick leave.

Employees with chronic conditions can also benefit from tips and advice to help them manage their condition and minimise flare-ups. Some health checks also include mental health assessments alongside physical health checks.

Information for employers

Health assessments can provide information on staff health that helps you create workplace well-being strategies and promote healthier lifestyles. If your employee goes to see their NHS GP for a check-up, you'll only hear about the results if they choose to tell you. However, if you use occupational health services as part of a risk assessment, they will share information with you where appropriate. Most business health insurance policies offer employee health assessments and will share anonymised data to help you identify common health risks. These can form the basis of workplace well-being initiatives and contribute to reduced sick leave.

As we've seen, preventive health assessments can empower your employees to improve their health and let you introduce measures to create a healthy workplace. The decision to undergo a health check is a personal one, although some screening is required by law. Mandatory screening and employee health checks can both help reduce long-term sickness. Let's look at what health and safety regulations require and consider the two main ways to encourage your team to have health checks.

Mandatory health screening

Some health screening is legally required and varies according to the risks your employees are exposed to at work. For example, you must provide screening for employees at risk of noise-induced hearing loss, asbestos exposure or who use vibrating tools, among others. The Health and Safety Executive has helpful guidance on the types of screening the law requires and how to implement mandatory screening.

These checks can help you identify work-related illnesses and take appropriate measures to support employees' health and well-being. You can also encourage your staff to access assessments to improve their general health. However, these aren't a substitute for proper health screening.

Signpost staff to NHS health checks

The NHS provides health screening and assessments that are free to access. Some health screening programmes provide checks designed to identify specific conditions at an early stage. These include diabetes and various forms of cancer.

The NHS Health Check examines your general health and assesses your risk of heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease and stroke. It's available to people between 40 and 74 without pre-existing health conditions and provides guidance on your risk level and ways to reduce it. The check measures your height, weight, blood pressure and cholesterol and may include a blood sugar test. The health professional will also ask about your lifestyle, medical history and any health issues in your family. They'll also note your age, ethnicity and gender, as these can affect your risk of various conditions. GP practices typically contact eligible patients, but your employees can also get in touch if they haven't received an invitation.

You can provide your employees with training and information about the benefits of health screening and checks and post links to further information on your company intranet. This approach increases awareness of the importance of health screening and lets them contact their GP or reply to screening invitations as needed.

Fund private health checks

If you provide employees with access to private health assessments as an alternative to the NHS health check, you can fund these in a couple of ways. Several private healthcare providers offer employee health assessments as a standalone service. Depending on your chosen provider, your employees can access various checks and ongoing support to help them achieve their health and well-being goals.

Basic assessments are similar to the NHS health check in that they measure a patient's height, weight, BMI, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Most will also check an employee's flexibility and mobility. You can also fund more extensive checks. Some providers offer fitness tests, which may be helpful if your work requires a high level of physical fitness. Others offer mental health checks. Assessments help your employees understand their current state of health and set goals to improve their lifestyle. Most providers also provide ongoing support, such as access to telephone helplines or well-being resources.

If you invest in business health insurance, most policies include health assessments with support that varies depending on your chosen policy. For example, many health insurers have a rewards program that provides access to discounted gym memberships, access to health helplines, mental well-being apps and discounted smoking cessation programmes. When choosing a health assessment provider, it's worth considering what support they offer, as this will increase the likelihood of your employees improving their health and avoiding long-term sickness.

We've discussed the role preventive health checks can play in reducing long-term sickness. However, other measures can also benefit staff health.

Promote well-being in your workplace

A healthy workplace starts with a positive culture that prioritises staff health. Health checks can provide valuable information to help you understand your employees' health challenges and devise suitable health initiatives. Whatever you choose to implement, it's wise to lead by example. For example, creating a positive work-life balance can help to combat work-related stress. You can encourage staff to leave work on time by ensuring their managers take the same approach.

Training sessions can explain the importance of health and well-being and provide staff with the tools to improve their lifestyles. These could include practical sessions such as cooking lessons or meditation in the boardroom. Sessions like these offer knowledge and skills and help employees build strong workplace relationships, which are good for their mental health. You might also appoint a well-being manager to oversee and monitor your efforts and act as a point of contact.

Workplace well-being initiatives

Well-being initiatives can take many forms, depending on your goals. If your work is sedentary, you might want to promote physical exercise by encouraging staff to go for a walk during their lunch break or holding taster sessions for different activities available in their local area. You could invite third-party providers, such as your local gym, to run sessions and provide information on their classes. If you provide your team with health insurance that includes discounted gym memberships, this could be a great way to encourage your staff to use their membership benefits.

You can also use workplace initiatives to support healthy eating. We've mentioned running training sessions, including cooking classes, but you can also encourage staff to try new healthy foods. Sometimes, the office environment can represent a barrier to healthy eating. If the break room is dark and dingy, or there isn't a fridge to store pre-prepared healthy meals, your staff are more likely to head to the nearest takeaway or eat a quick lunch at their desk instead of relaxing during their break.

Physical activity and healthy eating underpin good health, making your team less likely to become ill and face long-term absence.

Offer flexible working

A good work-life balance can help improve your employees' mental health and reduce their risk of work-related stress and burnout. You can encourage your team to create a balance that works for them by encouraging them to take breaks and go home on time so they can spend their evenings on things they enjoy. Time away from the office on annual leave lets staff take a complete break and return refreshed, so send reminders to ensure your employees use their full entitlement.

Flexible working arrangements let workers create a schedule that supports their well-being. You can enable staff to work from home or alter their working hours on a temporary or permanent basis. Flexible working enables staff to avoid stressful situations, such as a busy commute, or manage family commitments like taking their children to school.

Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs)

Employee assistance programmes (EAPs) provide staff with confidential third-party mental health support. Most EAPs offer a fixed number of counselling sessions that employees can access without a GP referral. They can use these sessions to discuss work or personal matters, meaning they can act as an early intervention for issues that could become more serious if they aren't addressed.

Many employee assistance programmes provide access to legal and financial guidance via telephone helplines. These services don't offer legal representation or advice tailored to an employee's circumstances. However, it can help them understand their rights and identify suitable sources of support or professional guidance.

Self-help resources

Providing your staff access to self-help resources and education empowers them to take responsibility for their health and avoid long-term sickness. The information you offer can cover a wide range of topics, including advice on living a healthy lifestyle and ways to prevent or manage various health conditions or reduce stress. These resources can supplement workplace training and education sessions and let staff explore topics at their own pace or according to their interests. You should tailor resources to staff with differing needs and abilities to ensure accessibility. You can also consider different causes of stress, which can vary from work stress to financial worries or relationship issues.

You can signpost staff to information, ensuring it's from a reliable source. The NHS provides resources, including articles on health conditions, healthy living and health assessment tools, and apps with health improvement programmes such as Couch to 5k. Most health insurers provide articles on health topics, and you can include information from relevant charities.

Management training

Management training is a vital resource in reducing long-term absence. It gives managers the skills to manage sickness absence effectively and understand their legal duties, but it can also support a healthy workplace. When managers lead by example and participate in workplace well-being sessions, this can help build relationships across the business and encourage their teams to take part.

Team leaders can also train as mental health first aiders to help identify staff experiencing mental health challenges and offer appropriate support. Conversations about mental well-being can be challenging, so good training is vital. Management training can also help supervisors spot the signs of a health issue and approach their staff in a supportive, sensitive way. These conversations can come out of a change in an employee's behaviour. While managers may be able to resolve stressful workplace issues, such as heavy workloads or relationship challenges, they may also need to signpost staff towards other support. Training can increase their awareness of circumstances when further help is required and where to seek help.

We've touched on the role health insurance can play in reducing long-term sickness. A business health insurance policy can provide access to health assessments and support to improve your employees' health, reducing their risk of serious illness.

Depending on your chosen policy, your health insurance can also provide access to an Employee Assistance Programme for counselling and telephone support.

In some cases, early intervention can prevent an illness from becoming more serious, improving the prognosis by providing quick access to diagnostic tests and treatment. In turn, this can help to reduce sick leave, which benefits your employees and your business. Choosing a policy with a rewards programme offering free and discounted access to health and well-being tools and resources will empower your team to look after their health.

At Globacare, we help you find health insurance to support your employees' physical and mental health and well-being and reduce the likelihood of long-term sickness absence. Contact us for specialist advice tailored to your needs.