Businesses operating in serviced offices and other buildings should consider putting in place statutory sick pay arrangements to reduce the level of absenteeism in the workplace, according to Didlaw.
The employment law boutique said that employees were less likely to be absent from work if the company they work for had statutory mechanism in place.
Karen Jackson, employment solicitor at Didlaw, explained that such a sick pay arrangement would mean that employees would not get paid for the days they were off.
Ms Jackson said: “Employers who don’t have contractual sick pay [would find] levels of absenteeism would be lower, because people won’t get paid if they don’t go in.
“In your contracts you shouldn’t have contractual sick pay, because in a way, it encourages people to think ‘Oh, I’ll have a day off, what’s the downside to me?'”
The benefits to businesses are namely a reduction in costs and greater work productivity with more people being in the office.
Her comments come after research commissioned by PwC on attitudes to absence revealed that one in three UK employees admitted to lying to take time off work, mainly because they’re disillusioned with their jobs.
Didlaw is a niche employment law boutique specialising in employment advice around disability illness and discrimination.
