Sickness absences and the cost of workplace benefits both rose at the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) in the last financial year – however overall employee costs dropped by £16m.
Sickness absence was up by 0.5 percentage points in 2021-22, the FOS annual report revealed.
The regulator said this was largely due to sickness absence being lower than normal in 2020/21 owing to lockdowns, social distancing and remote working
The overall lost time at the end of the year was 2.6% – equivalent to 6.7 days lost per person and ahead of its target of no more than 3%.
With the return to more normal working conditions, FOS said it reminded staff about its sickness policy, had return‑to‑work conversations, and recorded data against its targets.
Employee flexible benefit costs rose 8.6% to £7.3m in 2021-22 from £6.7m the previous year. However, total employee costs including wages, salaries and pension contributions fell to £150.5m from £166.9m in the previous financial year.
FOS pointed out that it offers staff a wide range of benefits to make employees’ money go further, improve health and wellbeing, and help protect them from financial hardship in times of need or crisis.
The offering includes life assurance, critical illness cover, income protection, personal accident cover, private medical insurance, and a virtual GP service as core benefits.
FOS also offers optional benefits, including travel and dental insurance, a cycle‑to‑work scheme, childcare voucher and technology schemes, a will‑writing service, and the option to flex some core benefits.