Absenteeism is costing small business nearly €500 million every year.

The Small firms Association says that last year more than four million days were lost to sickness.

Their research shows that people in small companies are less likely to take a sickie, compared to those in larger businesses.

The study conducted in 2014 took place throughout Ireland and covered all sectors of Irish business. 

Commenting on the findings, Alan Sherlock, SFA Executive, said “absenteeism still has a significant impact in terms of direct costs for small firms, but the results do show an improvement for small compared to big business.  For large businesses the average absenteeism rate is 2.34% or 5.4 days where as in businesses with less than 50 employees the rate is 2.06% or 4.7 days.” 

“The direct cost to small business with sick pay schemes is over €490 million. When you include additional direct costs, such as replacing staff, paying overtime and medical referrals, and indirect costs, such as loss of productivity and the time spent managing absence, the overall cost is close to €1 billion," said Mr Sherlock.

Back pain/injury and anxiety/depression were the most commonly cited reasons for absence.

 “Employers should ensure that they are fulfilling their duty of care to their employees by including manual handling and mental health when conducting risk assessments as part of their review of their health & safety statements," Mr Sherlock stated.