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UK
London, 12 April 2007

• Over a quarter of respondents offer employees incentives to take fewer sick days
  
  
• Almost half promote health initiatives and benefits to reduce sickness absence
  
  
• Employers’ opinions vary on how much employee absence is due to ill health
  
  
• Over a fifth believe anti-discrimination legislation prevents them from managing employee absence in a timely way
  
  
• Six in ten are concerned that health benefit costs will rise significantly as the average age of the workforce increases
  

In an attempt to tackle employee absence, 27% of employers now offer incentives to encourage staff to take fewer sick days, according to a new European survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. But opinion on the appropriateness of these incentives, such as vouchers and bonuses, is mixed. Some employers – particularly those in the UK – are concerned that they may increase ‘presenteeism’ among those who are genuinely ill. Over 380 organisations across Europe took part in the survey.

Steve Clements, principal at Mercer, explained: “Some employers believe that by offering incentives to reduce absence, they are encouraging employees who are genuinely sick to attend work. Many also struggle with the notion of rewarding employees for doing what is expected of them - that is, to work when they are fit to do so.”

To help reduce the risk of employees being absent due to ill health, almost half of the respondents (49%) promote health initiatives and benefits in their organisation. Among these employers, health screening is the most popular initiative, with 60% offering access to this service. Interestingly, Southern Europe takes the lead, with 78% of companies offering health screening followed closely by Eastern Europe at 76%, compared to 49% in Northern Europe.  Subsidised gym membership is most prevalent in Eastern Europe, with 54% offering this benefit to employees compared to 32% in Northern Europe and 27% in Southern Europe. 

In contrast, just 13% of respondents in Eastern Europe provide support for employees who are trying to quit smoking, compared to 39% in Southern Europe and 33% in Northern Europe.

Causes of employee absence 

Employers have varying opinions on how much employee absence is due to genuine ill health. The survey found that over a quarter of respondents believe less than 20% of staff absence is sickness-related. Meanwhile, a similar proportion thinks that more than 80% of days off are due to ill health. 

Mr Clements commented: “The results reveal an interesting discrepancy in the proportion of absence attributed to medical conditions. The problem is that many companies still do not have reliable data on the causes of employee absence, so there may be a gap between perception and reality.” He added: “While there are clearly legitimate reasons for taking days off other than ill health, the data suggests some employers are questioning how much employee absence is due to genuine causes.” 

For most organisations, frequent short-term rather than long-term employee absence is the main cause of lost time. “Better causal data will help companies target absence-related initiatives more effectively, and allow managers to address the issue more robustly,” commented Mr Clements.

Anti-discrimination legislation

More than one in five survey respondents (22%) are concerned that anti-discrimination legislation – such as age, sex and disability discrimination – prevents them from managing absence in a timely way. Concern was highest in Eastern Europe, Germany and France. “There have been inconsistent interpretations of what the various EU anti-discrimination directives mean, and this has caused a lot of confusion for employers,” said Mr Clements. “When evaluating absence cases, many employers feel they have to check and double check where they stand from a legal perspective before they take any action to get employees back to work. More guidance from government would go a long way to helping companies untangle the complex web of legislation.”

Ageing workforce

Almost six in ten respondents (58%) are concerned that their healthcare costs will rise significantly as their workforce ages. As people are encouraged to work for longer due to more restricted pension provision, and are more able to do so as anti-age discrimination legislation comes into force, the average age of workforces is likely to increase. The impact on employers in Europe will vary depending on their country’s state provision, but in general Southern European respondents are most concerned about rising costs while those in Eastern Europe are the least concerned.

Mercer will be conducting a European web briefing on 24 April to discuss the survey findings.

Notes to editors

The survey was completed by 382 employers in 16 European countries.  For analysis purposes, the countries were split into three geographic zones, as follows:

Mercer Human Resource Consulting is a global leader for HR and related financial advice and services, with more than 15,000 employees serving clients in more than 180 cities and 40 countries and territories worldwide. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., which lists its stock (ticker symbol: MMC) on the New York, Chicago and London stock exchanges. For more information, visit www.mercer.com.

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