Workers ‘scared to take sick leave’

Employees are becoming increasingly wary of taking sick leave due to fears of potential redundancies, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has revealed.

A recent report by Simplyhealth revealed that 58 per cent of people in the retail, leisure and catering industries have not taken any sick days in the last year.

In contrast, only 24 per cent of employees within the financial services industry have demonstrated an absence-free year.

Overall, 43 per cent of people have not taken any days off in the last year, a 20 per cent increase on the previous year.

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Commenting on the findings, Mike Emmott, adviser of public policy at the CIPD, said this may be because people want to have a clear record if there is the prospect of redundancies being carried out.

"Absence, even if it’s genuine sickness, which it generally is, can be a factor that employers might want to consider along with other things if they were having to select people for redundancy," he added.

Mr Emmott urged line managers and HR staff to keep an eye out for people who are working despite being ill.

And he warned that a person with a long-term health problem who felt they had been made redundant as a result of this might claim it was an unfair dismissal.