UK branded European “sickie capital”

This won’t surprise many of us but the UK has been branded the sickness capital of Europe because 27% of employees think it’s OK to take a day off sick when they aren’t actually ill!

The 2018 European survey was conducted by payroll giant ADP.

They surveyed 2,000 employees across France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and the UK and found that in the other countries 21% of employees thought that it was OK to take a day off sick when they weren’t ill, whereas in the UK the figure was 27%.

Is it because the UK is laxer and we simply allow employees to get away with it?

To combat, it is essential to have a robust return to work interview process which is applied to all staff without exception and then take action if you identify a cause for concern.

A return to work interview following every episode of sickness absence (even if it’s half a day) should discourage fraudulent absence.

This is because most employees won’t want to lie to your face or risk being found out.

Be careful though, even if you suspect that something sounds suspicious.

Don’t outright accuse the individual of lying.

Investigate and push for detailed answers before determining that there is a conduct issue to address.