Managing staff absenteeism

Santia is launching Day One
Absence Reporting, a new product
for absence management. Santia
Consulting has trialled the system
itself and says that for every £1
spent, a saving of £5.40 has been
made in sickness pay and agency
staff fees.

Instead of phoning their line
manager on the first day of their
absence, employees telephone a
qualified Santia advisor who will take
their details and provide advice. This
may be to remain off work until they
have recovered, to see a GP, or to
take over the counter medication and
return to work the next day.

Employees benefit from a high
quality of care and advice as soon as
it is required and as all exchanges are
recorded, it serves as a deterrent to
people who may not genuinely need
to take time off. All data is recorded
in a system which allows employers
to pull together statistics and identify
any issues.

“At a time where every penny
counts, an effective absentee
management system makes business
sense,” says Lisa Roberts, technical
director of Occupational Health for
Santia.