Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Business

Young British Workers Exploit Sick Leave, Outnumbering Migrant Staff Absences

by May 27, 2024
May 27, 2024
Young British Workers Exploit Sick Leave, Outnumbering Migrant Staff Absences

Young British workers are taking significantly more sick days compared to their foreign-born colleagues, according to Geoff Butcher, CEO of Blackadder Corporation, a care home provider in the Midlands. This trend, he asserts, is creating substantial issues within the industry.

Butcher, who manages six care homes employing 300 staff, observed a stark contrast between the sick leave patterns of British and overseas employees. “We see it by shift pattern,” he explained. “It’s not unusual for staff to drop out of shifts, particularly before or after weekends. Social media often reveals the true reason for their ‘sickness’ – weekends away or nights out.”

This pattern is particularly concerning against the backdrop of a record high of 2.8 million people unable to work due to long-term sickness since the Covid-19 pandemic. The political debate around this issue is heating up, with the Conservatives pledging to reduce benefits for long-term sickness as part of their election campaign.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) reported that the number of sick days taken by workers reached a decade high last year. Butcher noted a sharp increase in younger staff citing stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues as reasons for their absences, suggesting many are “gaming the system.”

In contrast, Butcher highlighted that foreign staff have not shown a similar increase in sick days. “There is a significant contrast. Some of our overseas colleagues are eager to work up to 60 hours a week,” he said. “It’s quite interesting that many of our overseas employees manage to work nearly twice as many hours as some of our own.”

Butcher attributed the rise in sick days to several factors, including GPs signing off patients without face-to-face consultations, the ability for workers to self-certify for up to a week when ill, and shifting attitudes towards work post-pandemic.

CIPD senior labour market economist Jon Boys noted a reversal in the demographics of sick leave since Covid-19. “Before the pandemic, older age groups had the highest sickness absence. Post-pandemic, it’s the younger age groups,” he explained. Boys suggested that initially, this shift was due to younger people contracting Covid more frequently, but subsequent research shows a significant rise in mental health issues leading to increased absences.

CIPD analysis of ONS figures revealed that the share of workers in health and social care who were off sick reached a 10-year high in the last quarter of the previous year. This surge in sick days poses acute challenges for employers like Butcher, who often receive late notifications from staff calling in sick.

“It never gets to the point of impacting safety, but it could do,” Butcher warned. “If you don’t have enough staff, the quality of care is imperilled. That is the ultimate problem here.”

As the debate over sick leave and its implications continues, employers are left to navigate the complexities of maintaining workforce stability and ensuring the quality of care in a challenging post-pandemic landscape.

Read more:
Young British Workers Exploit Sick Leave, Outnumbering Migrant Staff Absences

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Post-Pandemic Setback: Fewer Women Among Top Earners in the City
next post
Elon Musk Criticises US Tariffs on Chinese Electric Vehicles Amid Trade Tensions

You may also like

Over 450 directors banned for pandemic loans misuse

April 19, 2023

How can Click Farms Hurt your Business?

November 2, 2023

UK Business Flight Demand Drops by Nearly a...

May 20, 2024

Rachel Reeves urges end to remote working in...

September 23, 2024

Gold breaks $3,000 barrier as global uncertainties fuel...

March 14, 2025

Reeves collects record £2.2bn from ‘death tax’ ahead...

October 23, 2024

The power of offline marketing

June 5, 2023

How Do UK Tax Rules Cause Foreign Businesses...

October 16, 2023

Building Bridges: How 3G Capital Partners with Family-Owned...

November 25, 2024

Tesco Announces ‘Thank You’ Bonus for Workers as...

April 11, 2024

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Trump ally stands firm against ‘big, beautiful bill’ despite pressure: ‘It’ll completely backfire’

      June 8, 2025
    • Rubio condemns assassination attempt on Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe

      June 8, 2025
    • Obama WH physician says Biden doc should have performed cognitive test

      June 8, 2025
    • Trump warns of ‘serious consequences’ if Elon Musk funds Democrats

      June 7, 2025
    • Musk jokes about reconsidering stance on Big Beautiful Bill after Schiff’s praise

      June 7, 2025
    • Musk deletes explosive posts about Trump and Epstein files

      June 7, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,152)
    • Investing (2,019)
    • Politics (15,571)
    • Stocks (3,136)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved