Rehab ignorance costs manufacturers £610m

12th, May 2008

Misconceptions, resistance and lack of knowledge about rehabilitation are costing Britain’s manufacturers up to £610 million a year, says report.

The Manufacturers’ organisation Sickness Absence Report 2008, published by manufacturers’ organization EEF and Unum, a disability insurer, found that organisations who felt easily able to rehabilitate employers had 0.7% lower sickness absence rates.

On an annual basis, this means an extra 1.5 days attendance per worker or approximately 4.5 million days of work lost across manufacturing industry.

Employers who felt that there were ‘barriers’ to rehabilitation gave the following reasons: misconceptions about the effect of the employee’s health condition, employee resistance to rehabilitation, the role of GPs in promoting rehabilitation and concern about employees being protected under the Disability Discrimination Act.

Commenting on the findings, EEF Chief Medical Adviser, Professor Sayeed Khan, said:

“Promoting rehabilitation in the workplace is the single biggest factor that government, employers, employees and healthcare professionals can address in tackling our sickness absence record. Dame Carol Black’s review is a critical part of this process and we need all stakeholders to support this if we are to make the necessary step change in behaviour.”

Commenting on the report, Dame Carol Black, National Director for Health & Work, said:

“The results echo much of what I discovered during my review and it is encouraging to see support for one of my key proposals – the Fit for Work service. I am glad to see EEF endorsing the idea and recommending it should be a priority.

“The survey also importantly highlights the issue of mental health problems, an area where there needs to be early intervention to prevent such problems becoming long-term and leading to people losing their jobs.”

Rehab ignorance costs manufacturers £610m

Misconceptions, resistance and lack of knowledge about rehabilitation are costing Britain’s manufacturers up to £610 million a year, says report.

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