If you order your research paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on Absence; HR Issue?. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality Absence; HR Issue? paper right on time.
Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in Absence; HR Issue?, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your Absence; HR Issue? paper at affordable prices!
1. Definition of absence and a national overview
Definition
According to ACAS (001) absence can be categorised as follows
ɨ Unauthorised absence (including lateness)
Write your Absence; HR Issue? research paper
ɨ Certificated sick leave
ɨ Uncertificated sick leave
Most types of authorised absence including holidays, jury service etc can be anticipated and organised in advance in response to the needs of the organisation and the worker.
Cascio (000) defines absence as "any failure to report for or remain at work as scheduled, regardless of the reason." It is a voluntary absence that excludes annual leave, statutory holidays, strikes and industrial action, statutory time off, special leave and personal domestic leave. Cascio (000) raises an interesting and fundamental idea. The concept of absenteeism is rendered meaningless in 'knowledge environments', whereby individuals are measured not by tasks they perform but the end results achieved. Results achieved by the 'knowledge worker' is the only barometer of performance used by management. For the purpose of this report then the incidence and related issues of absenteeism will be considered in terms of work environments where workers are scheduled to report to a location and where attendance is one of many possible measures of performance.
National overview
The following paragraphs will provide the reader with a statistical, economic and political framework in relation to which the concepts and models described in sections , and 4 can be analysed and contextualised.
According to Bevan and Hayday (001) employers have become noticeably more concerned about the levels of sickness absence and their ability to influence it in the workplace. They cite four main reasons for this change of attitude. Fear of litigation is key. Employers have a more explicit 'duty of care' towards their employees. They argue that both UK and EU legislation have made employers infinitely more aware of the need to protect the physical and psychological wellbeing of their employees. They cite the increase in Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP's) as an indicator of the increase in employers concern for the workforce. The second major reason suggested is the increased competitive pressure on businesses to maximise every contribution to labour productivity. Achieving high levels of attendance has become a pre-requisite for such improvements. Thirdly the increasing workforce diversity has complicated working and attendance patterns. Costs incurred by businesses as a result of absence have also increased. The reasons for this according to Bevan and Hayday are two-fold; Government changes to Statutory Sick Pay in April 14 has resulted in all but the smallest employers absorbing the cost of administering and paying SSP, and there is also a greater awareness of the direct costs associated with absence and acknowledgement of the hidden costs.
The third national survey of sickness absence policy and practice conducted by CIPD in 00 indicated that the mean rate of sickness absence among employers who participated was 4.4% of working time, or 10 working days per employee based on a working year of 8 days. The average rate was just under 4% of working time or around working days in 001. The survey highlights both sectoral and regional differences. The highest levels of absence were found in particular parts of manufacturing, particularly food, drink and tobacco with an average of 6.4% of working time lost per year or 14.6 working days lost per employee; public sector employers lost 5.5% of working time per year or 1.5 days per employee. The survey findings show lower absence levels in the SouthEast (.6%) than in other parts of the UK. For example the average absence levels for employers in Wales is 5.1% and for the NorthEast 5%.
According to the Health and Safety statistics 001/00 report, the terms occupational or work related ill health cover the wide range of diseases and disorders which can be said in some cases to be attributable to a person's work. The report presents the available statistics on occupational ill health in Great Britain using five sources of information.
In 15 an estimated million individuals in Great Britain were suffering from an illness which they believed was caused by their current or past work, resulting in an estimated 18 million working days lost. The most common types of illness were musculoskeletal disorders affecting an estimated 1. million people and stress, depression anxiety or other stress ascribed conditions affecting a total of over 0.5 million people. An estimated 7800 new cases of work related musculoskeletal disorders were reported to the ODIN surveillance schemes in 000, 6600 cases of work related stress and mental health problems, an estimated 800 new cases of occupational asthma, 400 of contact dermatitis and 560 cases of occupationally acquired infections were also reported to ODIN in 000.
The European Foundation's 16 survey on working conditions in the European Union as cited by Cox et al (000) revealed that % of the workers questioned believed that their work affected their health. The most frequently mentioned problems were musculoskeletal complaints (0%) and stress (8%). % of respondents said they had been absent from work for work related health reasons during the previous 1 months. The average number of days absence per worker was 4 days per year, which represents around 600 million working days lost per year across the EU.
Statistics on the incidence of occupational ill health are particularly important on the context of the targets which have been recently set by the Government's Revitalising Health and Safety and Securing Health together strategies (000). The national targets to be met by 010 are
ɨ A 0% reduction in the incidence of work related ill health
ɨ A 0% reduction in ill health to members of the public caused by work activity
ɨ A 0% reduction in the number of work days lost due to work related ill health
ɨ Everyone currently in employment but off work due to ill health or disability is, where necessary, made aware of opportunities for rehabilitation back into work as early as possible
ɨ Everyone currently not in employment due to ill health or disability is, where necessary and appropriate, made of and offered opportunities to prepare for and find work
The Government estimates that in present value terms, the gross benefits to society of reaching three of the targets may be between £8.6 - £1.8 billion by 010.
In 15/6 HSE using a total loss approach estimated costs to individuals, employers and society of workplace injuries and non-injury accidents and work related ill health for Great Britain. The findings are summarised as follows
ɨ The net cost to individuals of workplace injuries and work related ill health was estimated to be £5.6 billion.
ɨ The total cost to employers was estimated to be between £.5 - £7. billion a year, which was equivalent to between £14 - £7 per person employed.
ɨ The overall cost to the British economy of all workplace injuries and work related ill health in 15/6 was estimated to be £4.4 - £8.6 billion.
Please note that this sample paper on Absence; HR Issue? is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Absence; HR Issue?, we are here to assist you. Your persuasive essay on Absence; HR Issue? will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.
Order your authentic assignment and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!