Absence is at an all-time high as employees find themselves snowed under, according to FirstCare, who estimate it will cost business £0.5bn per day to cope with such high levels of absence.
 

Is it quiet in the office? It seems likely as more employees are staying at home than ever seen before due to the severe weather conditions.

Alarming numbers of employees are reporting absences due to the extreme weather conditions, with almost 14% of the UK workforce staying at home on Wednesday 7 January 2010. It is estimated that the direct costs to the UK economy will exceed £0.5bn per day, using figures from the 2007 CBI Absence and Labour Turnover Survey.

“We have never seen absence rates like this before,” said Aaron Ross, CEO of FirstCare.

“Our nurses have been taking calls throughout the night and this morning from employees unable to make it into work. Many have made valiant efforts to make it into the office only to be thwarted by public transport issues and closed roads.

“As the situation has developed our advice has changed to encourage employees only to make essential journeys.

“Last year we saw high absence rates in February due to snow and subsequently saw an immediate increase in fractures and injuries as people made unnecessary journeys and ended up slipping on ice.

“We are advising all of the employers we cover to ensure that they are making adequate provisions to ensure the safety of employees in their car parks and communal areas over the coming days as the weather changes from snow to freezing conditions.

“We are also advising on modifying absence policies for the period of bad weather; given the current economic climate some employees may feel compelled to make inappropriate, and potentially unsafe, journeys into work to ensure that they get paid. Employees’ safety must come first," Ross concluded.