Staff absence doesn’t just disrupt the workplace — it also hits your bottom line. In 2025, evidence shows the issue is growing worse, not better. But with better tools and strategies, organisations can take control and minimise the damage.
The Scale of the Problem
According to the CIPD / Simplyhealth Health & Wellbeing Report 2025, UK employees took an average of 9.4 sick days over the past year nearly two full working weeks.
That’s a sharp increase from 7.8 days in 2023 and 5.8 days in 2022.
These trends underline that absence levels are rising and not just by a small margin.
When you scale that across millions of workers, the financial impact is enormous. Some estimates suggest the UK’s hidden cost of sickness—including lost productivity, staff covering, and the inefficiencies of managing absence is in the order of £100 billion annually.
Breaking that down per employee, depending on wages and organisation size, absence costs can amount to hundreds or more per person per year. (For many companies, the direct and indirect absence cost per employee could easily run into low-to-mid hundreds of pounds.)
Why Absence Management Matters
Left unmanaged, absence creates ripple effects:
- Disruption to capacity — cover has to be found, projects delayed, workloads redistributed
- Hidden costs — overtime, agency staff, training cover, administrative burden
- Loss of visibility and control — HR and managers lose transparency on patterns and risks
- Morale impacts — staff picking up extra work may feel overburdened
The financial cost is just the tip of the iceberg—behind every number lies operational, cultural, and strategic risk.
How Activ People HR Helps
Our absence management solution addresses these issues head-on:
- Real-time visibility & trend detection
Spot rising absence in a team or location before it becomes a crisis. - Automated workflows
Automate leave requests, approvals, certification checks, and notifications. - Self-service tools for employees
Let them log absences, submit fit notes, view leave balances—reducing HR time. - Compliance & audit readiness
Keep consistent, fair policies and records that stand up to audit scrutiny. - Data-driven insights
Use dashboards and reports to inform workforce planning and wellbeing investments.
With these capabilities, organisations can reduce both the frequency and cost impact of absence—and convert lost time back into productivity.
Conclusion
Absence will always be part of work life. But unchecked, it becomes expensive, inefficient, and damaging.
By adopting a strategic, data-led absence management approach with solutions like Activ People HR you reclaim control. You reduce costs. You support your people. And you build a healthier, more resilient workforce.
Original Article: HRnews
If you need to hire talent in 2025 or need help with your recruitment advertising contact our digital recruitment specialist Gareth Allison on 01732 914056 or email info@mysoutheastjobs.co.uk