Reducing sickness
absence in your business

Please complete the questions below

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* 1. How many employees does your company have?

Large (250+ employees)

Small to Medium (fewer than 250 employees)

Micro (1-9 employees)

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* 2. Do you have an Occupational Health Service or Employee Assistance Programme in your company?

Yes, delivered in-house

Yes, delivered by an external organisation

I am not aware of any occupational health services in my area

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* 3. Is sickness absence a problem in your company? For example, do you have high levels of sickness absence or does employee absence cause significant disruption to your business?

Yes, sickness absence is an issue for us

No, sickness absence is not a significant issue for us

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* 4. What are the main reasons for sickness absence in your company?

Illness, e.g. stomach upset, migraine, cold/flu

Injury

Musculoskeletal issues e.g. back pain, repetitive strain injury

Mental health issue e.g. stress, anxiety

Other (please specify)

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* 5. What, if any, adjustments have you made for employees with a health condition or disability. Or which would you consider making?

Physical adaptations for employees with a health condition, e.g. desk height, chair, new computer screen

Adapting employee roles or responsibilities

Changes to employee hours or working patterns

Changing where someone works, e.g. from home rather than the office

We are unable to make adjustments in our business

We would consider adjustments but it is difficult to understand what adjustments might be beneficial based on the sick note received from the employee's GP

We do feel we need to make any adjustments

We have tried to make adjustments for employees but it has not been successful (please provide more detail below)

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* 6. Do you feel you have the relevant knowledge to manage sickness absence effectively, and support employees to return to work?

Yes

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* 7. What support do you think you would help you (or your business) reduce the length or frequency of sickness absence?

The provision of workplace health and wellbeing support e.g. stress awareness/management, pain management, stop smoking advice

Provision of health and safety advice

Advice on identifying, understanding and managing mental health issues in your workforce

HR advice, e.g. your legal rights and responsibilities as an employer, guidance on managing employee absence

Advice on making appropriate adjustments e.g. to employee responsibilities, hours, physical equipment

Advice on broaching non-health related issues with employees e.g family issues, debt, housing

Advice on developing a workplace culture that could enhance the health and wellbeing of your staff e.g. encouraging openness about health issues or workplace challenges

None

Other (please specify)

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* 8. As an individual or employer, if there was a free service available to people at risk of long-term sickness absence, aimed at helping them improve their health and wellbeing and return to work more quickly, would you access it?

If I was off work sick I would seek support from such a service to help me return to work

If I was off work sick I would only look to access such as service if my GP or NHS professional recommended it

No, I would be unlikely to sign up to such a service

As an employer, I would ensure my employees were aware of such a service and actively encourage them to use it

As an employer, I would be keen to access support to improve the health and wellbeing of my workforce

As an employer, I would be keen for my employees to access support, and would work with the employee and the service to try to find a return to work wherever possible

No, as an employer I would not be comfortable with my employees accessing external support

No, as an employer I am unable to engage with, or action any recommendations from, anyone other than the employee or their GP / Health professional

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* 9. If you or your employees were to access the support service referenced above, which delivery channels do you think would be the most effective?

Face to face one-to-one advice

Advice / training given at workshops or seminars

Attendance at network events with a speaker

Telephone-based advice

Online advice e.g. videos, information sheets

Regular e-newsletters with advice, case studies

Mixture of the above

Other (please specify)

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* 10. If your employees accessed the support service referenced above, how best do you think the service could feedback to you on their progress, or the support they need to return to work?

Face to face, 3 way conversation with the employee and their line manager

Written return to work plan with clear recommendations

Feedback given via my employee

Written return to work plan with telephone advice available

Other (please specify)

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* 11. Contact information (not mandatory)

Name

Company

City/Town

Email Address