Bosses use taxman to help tackle sickies

Companies concerned about employee sickness absence are turning to the taxman for help according to national law firm Rowe Cohen.The theory is that people would rather be at work than have the taxman snooping around their affairs slashing soaring ísickieí rates across the UK.

Although only a minority of employees abuse sick leave, those that do can create significant productivity and morale problems across industry. It is popularly believed that up to 15% of absenteeism through sickness is not genuine.

Brian Rogers, Operations Director at Rowe Cohen said the threat of the Inland Revenue, which monitors the Statutory Sick Pay System, could actually help reduce absenteeism

Employers can make a request to the Revenue to carry out a medical review of an employee that has regular periods of sickness absence; this involves looking at medical records and seeing the employee. After this, the Revenue contacts the employer and tells them whether the employee is fit for work or not. One of the attractions of this service is that it is free of charge.

Itís a little known tactic that canny bosses are now using. Nobody likes to be investigated by the taxman.