The UK’s ill-health employment gap is among the widest in the EU

The UK’s employment gap between people with and without health limitations is among the widest in the EU15, a study from the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) has found.

Long-term sickness will be the toughest challenge of 2025

The UK is facing a growing crisis of long-term sickness. A rise in chronic health conditions have led to 2.8 million people being economically inactive.

12 months of 2024: April

As we reach the end of the year, our 12 Days of Christmas-style countdown rounds up each month's key events.

How can HR effectively reduce sickness absence?

The number of sick days UK employees take has increased by 41% since 2001, and the government's proposed reforms to statutory sick pay could boost the costs of this to employers. How can HR...

CIPD Festival of Work 2024: Day one round up

The CIPD 2024 Festival of Work began at the Excel centre in London yesterday (12 June). Here are some of the highlights and what you may have missed from day one of the event.

70,000 employees took a day off for Barbenheimer

What do doomsday, a newly crowned monarch, Snoop Dogg and Barbenheimer all have in common? They coincided with some of the biggest spikes in unplanned absence, lateness and sickness in the UK’s...

Burnout affects a fifth of UK employees as long-term sick hits record high

Research from Mental Health UK found that 20% of workers needed to take time off work due to stress in the past year as long-term sickness absence reaches a record high.

January absence triples twice in past two years

Absences tripled year on year from January 2021 to January 2022 and again to January 2023, according to data from HR software BrightHR.

Fit notes for sick employees hit record high

The NHS issued 10.4 million fit notes in 2022, a record high.

Why presenteeism isn't necessarily a bad thing

With around 66% of businesses now working remotely, the importance of employers managing presenteeism is even more critical. Job flexibility has increased, but for many, so has work pressure.

Could flexible pay become a new trend now we're working remotely?

The current recession - brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic - has created increasing financial uncertainty for many people who are now facing an unpredictable job market and pressure on their personal...

How initial differences in opportunities and rewards can shape a person’s prospects in the workplace

Major crises such as economic austerity and the current pandemic have aggravated existing vulnerabilities across several domains of life. Over time, such crises can have a snowball effect.