Managing Sickness Absence: A Practical Guide for Employers

You might be starting to worry about certain members of your team taking more time off sick than usual.

Sickness absence is one of the most common HR issues for small businesses, and it can be difficult to handle without the right approach.

As of 2023, sickness absence rates in the UK have reached their highest level in over a decade (2024 data not yet available). According to research by the CIPD and Simplyhealth, employees were absent for an average of 7.8 days per year, up from 5.8 days pre-pandemic. 

The top causes of short-term absence were minor illnesses, musculoskeletal injuries, and mental ill health. For long-term absence, mental ill health was the leading cause, followed by acute medical conditions and musculoskeletal injuries.

Additionally, the overall sickness absence rate stood at 3.4%, the highest since 2004.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is scheduled to release updated figures for 2023–2024 on 4 June 2025.

So what can you do if you’re concerned about the amount of sick leave someone is taking?

Start With a Clear Sickness Policy

If you don’t already have one in place, a written sickness absence policy is a great place to begin. It helps your team understand what to expect if they need to take time off ill and what the process looks like when they return.

A good policy should include:

🦉Return-to-work interviews

🦉Monitoring of sick days over time

🦉Keeping an eye out for patterns or repeated absences

Being transparent about this process helps set expectations and opens the door for honest conversations.

Use Tools to Track Absences

A Human Resources Information System (HRIS) such as Breathe can be a simple yet powerful way to monitor and analyse absence trends. If you’re not already using one, there are plenty of affordable options available for small businesses.

When used well, an HRIS can help you spot issues early and even reduce absence rates—making it a worthwhile investment that often pays for itself.

Contact me to arrange a 14 days free trial of Breathe. An HRIS designed especially for small businesses.

Look Beyond the Numbers

It’s important to look at what might be causing sickness absence. Low morale, stressful workloads or a poor working atmosphere can all contribute. When people don’t enjoy coming to work, it becomes easier to justify taking a day off.

If you’ve noticed someone taking frequent or regular days off, have a quiet chat with them. Approach it from a place of care rather than criticism, ask how they’re doing, explain that you’ve noticed a pattern, and offer support.

There may be a perfectly reasonable explanation, such as a personal health issue or a temporary challenge outside of work.

The key here is to avoid assumptions. Keep the conversation open, informal, and supportive where possible.

When to Take Formal Action

In many cases, informal chats are enough to address the issue. However, if things don’t improve or the situation becomes more serious, you may need to follow your formal disciplinary or absence procedures.

This doesn’t mean jumping straight to warnings, but it does mean documenting steps taken, keeping detailed records, and seeking advice if needed to make sure you're following the right process under employment law.

Final Thoughts

Managing sickness absence is all about balance. You want to be supportive and fair to your team, while also protecting the wellbeing and productivity of your business.

Having the right policies in place, tracking absence properly, and being proactive in your conversations can make a big difference.

If you’re currently dealing with absence issues or want to find out more about using an HRIS to track and manage sickness leave, I’d be happy to help.

Feel free to drop me a message or book a call.

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