Human Resource Management International Digest

Emerald Article: Tesco pilots scheme to cut unplanned leave of absence: Approach wins backing of staff and union

Article information:
To cite this document: (2004),"Tesco pilots scheme to cut unplanned leave of absence: Approach wins backing of staff and union", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 12 Iss: 6 pp. 21 - 23 Permanent link to this document: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09670730410555747 Downloaded on: 01-08-2012 To copy this document: permissions@emeraldinsight.com This document has been downloaded 3281 times since 2005. *

Users who downloaded this Article also downloaded: *

Franois Des Rosiers, Jean Dub, Marius Thriault, (2011),"Do peer effects shape property values?", Journal of Property Investment & Finance, Vol. 29 Iss: 4 pp. 510 - 528 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14635781111150376 Hui Chen, Miguel Baptista Nunes, Lihong Zhou, Guo Chao Peng, (2011),"Expanding the concept of requirements traceability: The role of electronic records management in gathering evidence of crucial communications and negotiations", Aslib Proceedings, Vol. 63 Iss: 2 pp. 168 - 187 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00012531111135646 Fang Shuqiong, Yang Baoan, Yu Yin, (2008),"Construction of evaluation index system of national energy security based on CAS theory and PSR model", Kybernetes, Vol. 37 Iss: 9 pp. 1297 - 1307 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/03684920810907580

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA For Authors: If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service. Information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com With over forty years' experience, Emerald Group Publishing is a leading independent publisher of global research with impact in business, society, public policy and education. In total, Emerald publishes over 275 journals and more than 130 book series, as well as an extensive range of online products and services. Emerald is both COUNTER 3 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.
*Related content and download information correct at time of download.

Tesco pilots scheme to cut unplanned leave of absence

Approach wins backing of staff and union

upermarket chain Tesco is piloting a scheme aimed at reducing unplanned leave of absence by its employees.

The 12-month pilot, running in 20 stores across the UK, involves giving staff three extra days of paid leave each year, but banning sick pay for the rst three days of any illness, whether genuine or not. In addition, there are incentives, in the form of shopping vouchers, for staff who complete 12 months without taking any unplanned leave of absence. A Tesco spokeswoman said: ``The aim is to reduce unplanned absenteeism which affects our customers and other members of the workforce who have to step in when someone is ill. We are looking at how we can encourage people to plan absences. We do not want to penalize people who are genuinely ill, but we do want to discourage people from taking the odd day off.

Early feedback is positive

``Rather than just ring in sick because staff have to take their child to the dentist or whatever, we will bend over backwards to sort that out. We do that already, but we want to improve so that people do not feel that they have to ring in sick.'' The scheme is voluntary and the trial has the support of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw). However, the union has yet to declare its formal position on the issue of deducting pay for sickness. ``Early feedback is very positive'', said the Tesco spokeswoman. Stephen Bevan, director of research, The Work Foundation, said: ``Absence has been ignored for too long. We all know it is going on, but no one wanted to mention it. Sensible employers have started to address the issue, moving towards policies that aim to encourage presence rather than punish absence. The Tesco pilot aims to square the circle and do both. ``However, long-term absence is the real problem, and the Tesco scheme will not deal with that. It may well cut down on the irritation factor of staff throwing `sickies', but it will not necessarily cut down on the overall costs of managing absence by that much.''

want to penalize people who are genuinely `` We do not want to discourage people from taking the ill, but we do odd day off. ''

DOI 10.1108/09670730410555747

VOL. 12 NO. 6 2004, pp. 21-23, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 0967-0734

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

PAGE 21

While 89 percent of absences are short-term, long-term episodes account for 56 percent of days lost and up to 70 percent of costs. Most disturbingly, every week approximately 3,000 people move from long-term sickness to ongoing incapacity benet. Of the 2.7 million people now receiving incapacity benet, only 30 people rejoin the workforce each week. While nearly two in ve people do not take any absence each year, some jobs and sectors are signicantly more prone. Managers are less than half as likely as manual workers (3.95 versus 1.63 percent) and those in the public/voluntary sector are ve times more likely than IT to be off sick (7.86 versus 1.57 percent). Stephen Bevan continued: ``The fact that the major union partner, Usdaw, is backing the pilot indicates that this is not some random measure introduced without any thought or consultation. Rather, this seems to be a well considered approach to managing short-term episodes of sickness absence that cannot be planned for, and cause disproportionate disruption to customers and colleagues alike. However, understanding the root causes of absence will be critical to making this a success. ``Tesco will need to monitor the extent to which the pilot scheme adversely affects lowerpaid women with complicated caring responsibilities. Staff are entitled by law to limited periods of family or carer leave to cope with domestic difculties such as ill children. Of course, the scheme could backre and Tesco end up with higher absence costs than before. Let's hope this is not the case.'' The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) reveals that the average number of days absence per employee in the UK each year is 7.1, and the cost to employers is 11.6 billion or 476 per head. In some companies and economic sectors, the problem is greater than in others. Absenteeism at British Airways, for example, averages 15 days per employee per year. The airline is currently negotiating with staff representatives about how to bring this down. Supermarket chains Asda and Sainsbury have also introduced measures to reduce absenteeism.

The GNER initiative

Unplanned absence at the UK train operator Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) was no worse than the average, but the gures were beginning to creep up. Chris Tetley, GNER regional manager (north), told the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development annual conference that following crashes involving the company's trains at Hateld and Selby, managers were reluctant to appear heavy handed with tired staff, and worried about the potential impact on a the company's edgling partnership agreement with employees. Managers lacked the training to deal with the situation and lacked supporting information. The company had an intense focus on nancial performance and there were constraints on investment in information systems. There was poor understanding of the purpose of return-to-work interviews and a low completion rate. The overall approach to managing unplanned absence was inconsistent. Too many managers took the approach that absence management was an HR problem. There was too little appreciation of the cost of unplanned absence to the company, and inadequate awareness of the support available through Bupa and occupational-health nurses. To alleviate the problems, the company placed more emphasis on keeping complete and accurate sickness statistics. A sickness ``league table'' was produced and widely distributed, and a training program, entitled ``One of Our Team is Missing'', was introduced. Management held meetings with top-level Bupa management, and there was increased management contact with local occupational-health nurses and physicians using referral forms. A sickness and release group was established, comprising equal numbers of management and trade-union representatives, to focus on preventive initiatives. Targets were set to cut unplanned absences among ``on train'' staff from 9.9 to 7.7 percent, and among station staff from 5 to 4.5 percent. Responsibility was cascaded down through

PAGE 22

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

VOL. 12 NO. 6 2004

`` Employers should be able to trust their staff when they phone in, unwell, and positive approaches to
managing absenteeism are more likely to reduce its occurrence.

''

regional plans to team level. The regional teams focused on long-term sickness and local managers on short-term sickness. The company worked closely with the union on rehabilitation and on nding alternative employment opportunities within GNER. As a result of the initiatives, unplanned absences among both ``on train'' and station employees at the 3,100-employee company have fallen. Of 52 people on long-term sickness in April 2002, 15 were released under ill-health arrangements and 32 returned to work.

The Chartered Management Institute view

Christine Hayhurst, director of professional affairs at the Chartered Management Institute, commented: ``In today's working environment, employers are continually looking for ways to stay lean and mean, but effective. By extension, organizations would do well to ensure that genuinely ill staff are not penalized and sick people are not encouraged to work when they are not fully t. Employers should be able to trust their staff when they phone in, unwell, and positive approaches to managing absenteeism are more likely to reduce its occurrence.'' The institute advises organizations, when developing absenteeism policies, to: J Know the legal framework. Do not penalize individuals immediately, but explore the reasons for persistent absence and provide help if necessary. J Dene acceptable levels of absence. Do not have a culture where absence is accepted without explanation, but do outline what ``acceptable'' absence is within the organization. J Encourage breaks. Do not allow the organization to become a sweatshop, and ensure that employees take time for lunch and do not work late when they do not have to. J Motivate staff. Think about the way staff are managed and determine whether policies such as exible working will help with the occasional need for a day off. Gain buy-in from staff for the benets on offer. J Monitor absence. If staff know that absence data are being collated they are unlikely to take liberties. Keywords: Absenteeism, Illness, Health, Tesco, GNER Christine Hayhurst continued: ``It is rarely possible to know in advance that someone will be sick, so the important thing is for managers to show some exibility. We recognize that all individuals are paid to do a job, but good management is about identifying reasons for absence and developing a solution. It is not about penalizing people who are genuinely ill.''

Comment
This article was written by David Pollitt, Human Resource Management International Digest editor, using information provided by Tesco, the Chartered Management Institute, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and The Work Foundation.

VOL. 12 NO. 6 2004

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

PAGE 23