How much could absence cost you?
Until it happens, it can be hard to envisage the worst-case scenario cost of absence. These two examples show how costly one single unlucky absence incident can be. Absence can really put a spanner in the works, especially for a smaller business, if not managed properly.
Case study 1
Company Industry: Warehouse & Logistics
Size: 37 employees
Cost of Absence: £78,000
Employee struck on leg by the “forks” of a forklift truck. The employee was off with a broken leg and the company did not contact the employee for over six weeks. Minor complication with the injury, together with the onset of psychological factors, extended absence to over 6 months with little positive communication from their employer. The company faced a liability claim and the employee never returned to work.
Case study 2
Company Industry: Legal
Size: 52 employees
Cost of Absence: £112,000
Employee was knocked off motorbike and unable to return to work due to injuries. He was off work for 6 months with complicating psychological effects. The company he works so hard for seemed to ignore his situation. It is estimated that with proper intervention his time off work could have been lowered to 6-8 weeks. This employee was a partner within the law firm and considered a “high earner”. This meant his absence came at a great cost to the employer.
How would using Engage help in these cases?
As soon as an accident at work or a serious incident is logged, Engage can alert nominated managers to the case. The automated triggers and tasks can be used to ensure managers stay in regular contact with absent employees with e.g. bi-weekly phone calls prompted in their task list. Engage Resource Centre is a great source of information and training material for managers who are new to Absence Management or fairly inexperienced in this field. Users have access to reference material for key Absence Management tasks such as Return to Work interviews and Outbound ‘Welfare’ calls to absent employees as well as more general guidance on managing absence.
In the case of a more serious work accident, it is often recommended that an Occupational Health (OH) referral is made. Engage is owned by Honeydew Health who can offer ad hoc services like Case Management, OH and Physiotherapy. This means that by contacting Engage Customer Service, you can request case advice where necessary and also, if you decide to go down that route, arrange further interventions. The initial conversation is always free of charge so don’t hesitate to contact us for advice!