How you can prevent the hidden costs of absence from affecting your business

So, when someone is unexpectedly off work, this can quickly have a knock-on effect. Deadlines might move, workloads can be spread across the rest of the team, and clients or customers could experience delays. 

Of course, people will always get ill from time to time, and you can’t prevent every absence.

Plus, you don’t want your employees feeling as though they need to work when they’re genuinely unwell.

However, unplanned absence can still create significant pressure, especially for smaller businesses where each person plays a vital role.

According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, UK employees were off ill for an average of 9.4 days in 2025, which is almost two working weeks and the highest level in more than 15 years.

What’s more, Canada Life found that almost one in four small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are seriously affected when employees are ill, while 17% regularly struggle with workers being off for long periods.

While you can’t remove sickness entirely, there are steps you can take to reduce the financial and practical disruption it can cause. Continue reading to find out how.

A clear sickness policy could reduce confusion for everyone

Perhaps one of the simplest ways to manage absence is to ensure everyone understands what should happen if someone is too unwell to work.

This might sound obvious, but if the process is unclear, absence can become more stressful than it needs to be.

For example, employees might not know who they should contact, when they need to provide a note, or what pay they can expect while they’re off. Even managers may be unsure how to respond consistently. 

A clear sickness policy can help avoid this by setting out:

• How and when employees should report absence
• Who they should contact
• Whether they need to provide evidence of illness
• How sick pay works
• When return-to-work meetings take place
• What support may be available during longer absences. 

This can make the process feel fairer and more predictable for everyone. It could also reduce disruption as managers know the information they need and employees know what is expected of them.

Crucially, it’s important not to make people feel punished for being ill, but rather to create a consistent process that protects the business and your team.

Monitoring absence trends could help you spot issues early

Repeated absences, long-term sickness, or patterns within certain teams could indicate issues that need attention, making it useful to monitor absence data.

You might look at how often employees are off, how long their absences were, or whether particular departments seem to be struggling more than others.

This could help you act sooner. Indeed, if several people on a team are regularly off due to stress, this could suggest an issue with workload, management, or working patterns.

If back pain is common, you may need to review workstations or equipment.

Again, this isn’t about catching people out. It’s about understanding exactly what’s happening in your business before problems grow.

You could use structured methods – such as the “Bradford Factor” – to highlight frequent short-term absences.

This formula helps you spot patterns by calculating a score based on the number of days someone is absent and the total number of periods of illness throughout the year. 

That said, numbers alone rarely tell a full story, so it’s important to consider individual circumstances before you take action.

Investing in wellbeing could reduce absence before it occurs

Managing absence shouldn’t start only once someone is already off work. Often, the best results can come from preventing issues in the first place through employee wellbeing.

Some of the support you offer could include:

• Mental health resources
• An employee assistance programme
• Virtual GP appointments
• Health checks
• Flexible working arrangements where appropriate.

Canada Life found that SMEs offering certain wellbeing benefits generally believed they helped reduce absence. 

For instance, 92% of SMEs offering phone and video GP appointments agreed they were effective at reducing workplace absence and supporting employee health and wellbeing.

Better yet, wellbeing support can show that you care about your employees as people, not just workers, helping improve loyalty, morale, and retention, which could save money in the long run.

Financial planning could protect your business from disruption

Even with strong policies and robust support in place, absence can still happen. This is why it’s vital to consider how your business might cope if a key person were unexpectedly away for a long time.

For example, could the business continue to meet commitments if you, a senior employee, or specialist team member were unable to work? Would you need to hire temporary cover or use reserves to keep everything running smoothly?

Read more: 5 practical ways to protect your business from the unexpected

This is where planning ahead can be incredibly beneficial. 

At Hansford Bell, we can work with business owners to think through these risks as part of their wider financial plan.

This might involve:

• Reviewing protection arrangements
• Understanding cashflow needs
• Building suitable reserves
• Ensuring your personal finances aren’t too tied to short-term business pressures.

Taking steps now, with a trusted planner’s support, could reduce the financial impact of absence and help you build a more resilient business when challenges arise.

Get in touch

To find out more about how we can help you, please call us on 01822 617 960, email info@hansfordbell.co.uk, or fill in our online contact form, and we’ll be in touch.