CIPD conference to help employers manage absence

Absence costs businesses billions of pounds every year but despite this too many employers are failing to tackle this problem through effective people management.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) is holding a new, one day, Absence Management Conference, in association with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), to help identify the steps managers can take to reduce absence and improve employee wellbeing.

A selection of experts will come together at CIPDís Absence Management Conference, on the 21 November 2006, to suggest how employers can manage absence and employee well-being successfully. Speakers at the event include:

Barbara Wren, Lecturer in Occupational Psychology, Royal Free Hospital, on stress management and the role of line managers

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, DWP Minister responsible for Health and Safety, on the Governmentís proposals for future health strategy

Brenda Roper, Senior Business Development Manager, ACAS, on practical solutions ñ the role of the line manager

Professor Peter Sturgeon, University of Warwick, on understanding employee absence and the implications for HR. He will draw on findings from a new CIPD/Active Health Partners report exploring the absence patterns of 56,000 employees

Sally Radford, HR Business Transformation Manager, People Management Service, Rochdale Metropolitan Council, on employee well-being

The conference will see the launch of a new on-line absence management tool, developed jointly by CIPD, HSE and Acas. The tool will provide practical advice for line managers and HR professionals, working in both large and small businesses across sectors in the UK. This will include:

Measuring absence
Developing an absence strategy
Dealing with short-term absence
Dealing with long-term absence

The CIPDís Absence Management survey 2006 shows that, while there are many causes of employee absence which emphasise the need for good monitoring and measurement, stress remains the most prevalent cause of long-term absence.

The CIPD will also be using the conference to showcase a major new piece of research based on detailed and unique data supplied by Active Health Partners, covering around 56,000 employees working in 40 organisations, across both the private and public sector. The report will reveal new insights into the incidence and patterns of workplace absence.

Ben Willmott, CIPD Employee Relations Adviser, says:

ìEmployers need to monitor and measure both long and short term absence so that they can manage the problem successfully. Organisations should provide training to equip managers with the skills required to identify causes of stress so that they can put the necessary interventions in place to prevent long-term absence.

ìEmployers cannot afford to ignore the well-being of their workforce because doing so could have a negative impact on productivity. A balance has to be struck between providing support and rehabilitation for employees to help them return to work and providing a robust absence management process which uses disciplinary procedures where necessary. ì

For a full list of speakers visit www.cipd.co.uk/absence