The number of UK adults not seeking employment due to long-term sickness is at its highest level since records began. The findings by the Office of National Statistics (and as reported by the BBC) which primarily relate to 50-64 year olds, may not come as an immediate shock in the aftermath of a pandemic, but what is surprising is that the single biggest quarterly increase has only just happened (between June and August this year).
One possible explanation for that is a study by the Health Foundation which suggests that Covid may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back for many older workers leaving the workforce, but is only part of growing trend of rising ill health.
Speaking to People Management, Stuart Lewis of Rest Less said: “There is now a contingent of people in their 50s and 60s looking to get back into the workforce, but who are shut out for reasons such as age discrimination, a skillset mismatch or a lack of flexible working options to fit around their health and care considerations.”
Unemployment rate hurting employers
Somewhat bizarrely, one problem compounding the issue for employers is the extremely low unemployment rate, which is now at its lowest for over 50 years. For businesses struggling with the effect of long-term staff absence, the regular solution of hiring temps and casual workers is a much more difficult, and often much more expensive route than it once was because of the scarcity of skilled staff.
Perversely, the effect of the Bank of England’s predicted a rise in unemployment over coming years may not be entirely unwelcome for businesses struggling to find the flexible resources they need.
Supporting the sick
So what is the solution for businesses with a growing roster of staff on the sick list? An HR professional told People Management that one answer lay in having “effective health and wellbeing strategies to support employees” and suggested that supportive sickness management procedures would help those with underlying health conditions.
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