THIS is the time of year when sickness and absenteeism reach a peak. British companies face nothing like the bills that confront their American counterparts, which usually pay their employees’ medical insurance. With nearly 2m employees in America, Ford and General Motors are threatened with bankruptcy as they struggle to find billions of dollars to pay for health and welfare benefits.

However, British companies are paying more than they think. Some estimates suggest a company with a 1,000 employees is paying £2m a year for absenteeism — with indirect costs of disruption, lost revenue and administration adding even more to the bill.

Many companies have no idea what absenteeism is costing them. The accountant’s adage is that you get what you can measure — and many employers have no way of measuring the true cost of absenteeism. The shrewder ones are coming to appreciate that these costs can be controlled and that employee health and well- being, and consequently productivity, can be boosted with the right sorts of policies.

“There was a belief in the past that employees could look after their own healthcare. British companies could say they operated in a country with a free national health service so there was no need to do more. That view has changed significantly,” said Charles Levinson, founder of Doctorcall, a specialist supplier of private-health services. “Companies are beginning to invest a lot in the health of their employees.”

Companies want to retain staff and are keen to be seen as caring employers. Moreover, in the event of a legal dispute, a company’s case will be strengthened if it has a good reputation for employee care.

More practically, companies want to manage sick leave to reduce costs. Levinson now finds that Doctorcall, with 38 doctors on its books, is being approached by a range of companies. “We took on a financial-services company with just eight employees as a client yesterday, which is almost unheard of,” he said. “There is high absenteeism at this time of year and more companies are waking up to the problem.”

Companies can use a range of measures to cut medical costs. Pre-employment medical screening makes sure chronic health problems are not being imported into the company. The cost of giving flu vaccines and the savings they make can be calculated.

Substantial savings can be made where employees are taking long spells of sick leave. “This can often be due to poor communications,” said Levinson. Two common causes of long-term sickness are stress and depression, which people may be too embarrassed to discuss.

GPs are likely to be protective of their patients. Often they will regard the employer as a large, deep-pocketed organisation. They will write in the sick note what they feel is in the patient’s best interest or even what they feel the patient would like to see. It sometimes takes an independent doctor to piece together what is really going on. A long-term sickness review can be helpful. By producing an impartial report, it can help the employee resume his or her career or consider other options.

Employment law is complicated and changes rapidly, making companies frightened of being taken to a tribunal, said Levinson. “Even large companies can be uncertain. A doctor can make sure they have proper policies in place. If they ask a lawyer about the position, he will probably advise them to err on the side of caution and this will frighten them even more.”

Using medical support services such as Doctorcall can save valuable time. Most people’s GPs are near their home, which means that a visit will take most of the day. It is far more convenient for the employer if staff are able to see a doctor near work.

Employee assistance programmes, which are telephone helplines, are another way of cutting down on absence. They also play an important part in alleviating the stress that the trials of daily life can bring. “They help people focus on work,” said Levinson.

Excel Airways finds the services of Doctorcall invaluable. “Employee health is very important to us,” said Linda Singley, head of human resources at the airline.

Before working with Doctorcall the airline used various doctors around the country. Now health supervision is centralised and Singley says Doctorcall knows the rules of when flight crew can and cannot fly. The service covers all employees at the airline. New recruits have to take a medical test. The airline also offers staff a range of services. It has just opened a state-of-the-art gym at its headquarters in Crawley, West Sussex, and runs posture clinics that help staff cope with the rigours of work in flight.

Another company, Tonic, is a specialist in corporate well-being and concentrates on helping people improve their fitness. “People don’t have time to create a healthy lifestyle for themselves,” said Jeff Archer, a director. “Our goal is to try to make sure they have some energy left for themselves at the end of the day. We really try to give them some practical things they can get on with. Healthy living is not just about resolutions in January.”

Archer said people made the mistake of trying to do too much at one time. “The best approach is the steady implementation of things that are sustainable,” he advised.

“Nobody knows what they are capable of until they try it. I have yet to find someone who did not want to live a fitter life.”

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