In 2021, an estimated 149.3 million working days were lost that year due to staff sickness and absence. This can be caused due to sickness, mental health concerns as well as work-related injuries such as musculoskeletal problems. UK businesses are estimated to lose around £781 per employee in absentee costs, costing the economy over £77 billion a year.
Absenteeism has a financial cost, a productivity cost, and a risk of understaffing, which could lead to missed deadlines, additional health and safety risks and poor customer service.
With this in mind, anything that organisations can do to reduce absenteeism can be essential for the success of the business.
One of the aspects that can make a significant difference is ensuring a swift and safe return to work after a period of absence. For this, management referrals can be helpful for creating a safe return to work, speeding up the return process and reducing the risk of further absences.
What are management referrals?
A management referral is an occupational health assessment that can help address any health and wellbeing issues preventing a safe return to work. These assessments can help organisations to create modifications that can help an employee return to work quickly to reduce further absence.
A health assessment can also make short or long-term adjustments to the workplace environment or work activities to reduce the risk of injury or illness. Occupational health specialists can safely and professionally review anything that may affect an employee’s performance at work.
The benefits of management referrals
- Reduced absenteeism
With management referrals, organisations can put in place the safety measures needed to help employees continue working without impacting their health. This can reduce staff absences which can lower costs.
- Improve processes
An occupational health assessment can find safer ways of working, which can improve long-standing processes in organisations. This can help to lower workplace risks and amend risk assessments. In addition, occupational health specialists can help organisations develop creative solutions to provide workable practices that benefit the organisation while improving employee health and wellbeing.
- Increase staff wellbeing
Workplace injuries, ill health and absences can cause stress and burnout symptoms. By offering management referrals, the organisation makes staff wellbeing a priority. Furthermore, prolonged staff absence has a wider impact on the whole team. Speeding up the return to work process with specialist advice and tailored health assessments can limit the impact on the entire team.
How management referrals work
At Latus Health, we offer fast and flexible management referrals with occupational health nurses, advisors, and physicians, as well as specialists such as mental health and musculoskeletal practitioners.
With online, video and face-to-face appointments, reports are sent within 24 hours to help speed up safe returns to work. To find out more about how management referrals can improve return-to-work processes and reduce staff absences, get in touch with the team at Latus Health.