The vast majority (82%) of employers say they currently record sickness absence. That is a marginal improvement on the 80% that said the same in 2023 – but not as many as the 85% who recorded sickness in 2022.
This is according to research from Grid of 500 HR decision makers, which also said 69% of employers record the impact of sickness absence – a significant increase on 59% in 2023 and 63% in 2022.
However, almost a third (27%) of employers do not record currently the impact of sickness absence.
Grid said while it acknowledges the complexities of the task, it believes that not collating either of these datasets represents a missed opportunity to better support staff with effective health and wellbeing benefits.
The research also found that employers believe that recording sickness absence has become more difficult due to hybrid working, with nearly three quarters (72%) of employers agreeing that working from home can mask sickness absence.
Grid said if employers know why staff are off sick, they can address those absences with targeted support, as well as by providing assistance to line managers with whom absentees are in day-to-day contact.
It noted that the process of managing sickness absence could also highlight any trends, such as significant absences in a particular department, location, or within a specific role or function that can then be improved with effective intervention.
Katharine Moxham, spokesperson for Grid, (pictured), said: “Hybrid working has certainly had an impact on employers’ ability to record sickness absence and its impact: the marginal improvements in 2024’s data shows that it looks like employers are making a conscious effort to get better at collecting this data.
“However, nearly a fifth are still not keeping tabs on the number of days their employees have off work, and nearly 30% of employers are not tracking the impact of sick days – both a prerequisite for managing absence and running an efficient business.
“There is a great deal of value in absence data for those employers who harness it effectively.
“That means collecting and analysing the raw numbers to identify the staff who are off work now, in order to be proactive in preventing future absence, as well as understanding the impact of that absence.
“Forewarned is forearmed when it comes to reducing absence.”