The survey suggests that 23% of small firms are plagued by employees failing to come into work due to suspicious cases of ill-health.
"According to the latest CBI figures the cost of staff absence to the UK economy rose to over £13 billion in 2005, with as many as 13% of days lost to sickness considered non-genuine by employers - in other words staff 'pulling sickies' - at a cost to the economy of £1.2bn," said David Robertson, chief executive of Bibby Financial Services.
With so many things going on in a business environment, owners and managers
simply don’t have the time to handle everything themselves and important
long-term HR issues get left aside for the short-term, quick-fixes
"Dealing with such issues is a delicate process for employers and must be done by the book, which takes a lot of time and consideration. What's clear from our research is that with so many things going on in a business environment, owners and managers simply don't have the time to handle everything themselves and important long-term HR issues get left aside for the short-term, quick-fixes."
Bibby suggests the following tips to help companies reduce instances of bogus sick-days:
Be flexible
Staff call in sick without due cause for all sorts of reasons. Many companies beat the sick-day culture by introducing flexible working practices like flexi-time or job-sharing, or even letting staff take extended lunch hours for important appointments, which encourages loyalty and reduces unnecessary days off
Keep an eye out
Try to find out the real reasons why employees are not turning up for work. Keep a log for absences and talk to repeat absentees in confidence about the reason they are taking so much time off
Encourage annual leave
Ensure employees take their allocated annual leave. Time off is important for staff performance levels and those who take it return to work revitalised and stress-free, and less likely to need non-genuine time off.
Analyse management style
One of the top reasons outside of illness, that employees are absent is due to stress, and the number one reason employees become stressed has to do with their relationship with their manager or supervisor. Use team-building techniques to break down barriers and have an ‘open door' policy to allow staff to vent grievances and air concerns
Arrange holiday cover
Don't overburden employees working in the office when other colleagues go on holiday, as this can lead to increased stress and absenteeism
Businesses also struggle to cope with employee tardiness (20%), staff complaints about colleagues (20%), pay disputes (18%) and even having to intervene in cases where staff have personal hygiene problems (10%).
One in three (33%) managers also say they struggle to keep up to date with changes in the law, while 13% find it hard to deal with difficult members of staff and 11% struggle with HR processes in general.