Mental health issues for workers depress bosses

Mental health issues are the most common long-term conditions keeping employees from working, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

Next come muscle and joint ailments, back pain and cancer treatment.

The workplace absence survey also pinpointed public sector workers as piling up just over an average eight days off work sick every year, compared with 25% less time at just under six days for private sector workers.

The CBI study gave an unhealthy review of the government’s ‘fit note’ policy first year – pointing out that time off work due to illness added up to 190 million lost working days costing firms and employers around £17 billion in reduced productivity.

Two thirds (66%) of employers confirmed the fit note had not yet helped their businesses, and 71% suspected GPs simply replaced the old sick note with the fit note.

The CBI also revealed long-term absence accounts for around a third (32%) of all time lost to sickness.

Worryingly, the CBI also accuses workers or shirking by taking 30.4 million unauthorised days off when they are not sick that contributes £2.7 billion towards lost productivity.

In the public sector, long-term health problems are blamed for nearly half (47%) of days lost, but the figure is down to 27% in the private sector.

Katja Hall, chief policy director at the CBI, said: “The substantial costs of absence to the economy put a premium on managing longer-term absence well.

“The fit note is a great initiative, which could play an important role in helping people back to work and stopping them slide into long-term absence. But employers are far from convinced that the scheme is working properly and don’t think GPs are getting the necessary training.

“There can be no room for complacency in addressing the so-called sick note culture.”

The rate of absence for last year was slightly higher than 2009, when employees averaged 6.4 sick days, the lowest rate since the survey began in 1987.

The CBI suggests the target should be reducing public sector absence from the workplace to private sector levels by 2015, which would save the country around £5 billion a year in lost productivity.

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