UK businesses lost 6.9 days per employee in 2015 due to this problem. Absenteeism costs the British economy an estimated £100 billion. UK employees missing 131 million days in total because of absenteeism. London: Ahead of this weekend’s Spring Bank Holiday (30/05/16), Catapult, an on-demand hiring platform, based in London, highlights the scale of the workplace absenteeism crisis in the UK.

Currently UK businesses are losing 6.9 days a year per employee due to absenteeism, which is costing the British economy a stunning £100 billion. UK employees missed 131 million days in total in 2014, while absenteeism is estimated to cost the average UK business £554 per employee. Nearly a quarter (23%) of UK firms report ‘non-genuine absence’ as their top cause short term absence for non-manual workers.

Meanwhile, one in three (30%) businesses also cite this as their top reason for short term absence for manual workers. Catapult offers replacement employees within one hour, and one of its clients, Rosa’s Thai Cafe, has dealt with employee absenteeism in the past but are always striving for innovative new ways to keep their diners happy. Gayle Kitiyanuphap, Master of People and Development, from Rosa’s Thai Cafe said: “We have a fantastic team and are lucky enough not to experience absenteeism often; but operating seven restaurants means that it can happen on occasion. We take the customer experience in our restaurants extremely seriously, and high service levels are key to deliver on this commitment. Often we can call on our own staff if someone is absent, but it’s good to know that we can rely on Catapult to provide us with support – especially at short notice. Rosa’s uses Catapult on a regular basis and we’ve been extremely happy with the service.”

Oli Johnson, Co-Founder of Catapult said: “The scale of the UK’s absenteeism problem is simply staggering. British firms are currently losing nearly a week’s worth of productivity from employees and this is having a detrimental effect on their bottom lines. SMEs are most affected by this problem due to much smaller workforces, they are simply not able to absorb the impact of an absent member of staff. As the UK enters the summer period, its absenteeism problem is only likely to be exacerbated, especially with standout sporting events like Euro 2016 and the Olympics which will further compound the problem of non-genuine employee absences.”

“However, technology is now disrupting the traditional recruitment model. On-demand hiring platforms, such as Catapult, are now able to source quality candidates in under an hour in a cost effective way, so a business doesn’t need to miss a beat, especially during a busy time like this weekend’s bank holiday.”