Merseyside organisation Health@Work has advised organisations to make a bigger effort to create a healthier working culture, following the new ruling by the European Court of Justice - which entitles workers who fall sick during their annual leave to take corresponding paid leave at a later date.
The changes, taking effect this month, are expected to cost businesses more than £100million each year, as organisations will be obliged to foot the bill for sickness absence as well as the rescheduled holiday.
Health@Work Chief Executive, Frances Molloy, said: “The new legislation is likely to come as a blow to many organisations, especially those already experiencing the financial burden of short-term or long-term sickness absence from their workforce.
"By encouraging staff members to adopt healthier lifestyles in and out of work, organisations are certain to see absence levels improve, ensuring that this new legislation has little impact.
Merseyside health & safety, wellbeing and HR consultancy, Health@Work provides a variety of projects designed to reduce sickness absence levels, such as the Workplace Wellbeing Charter, developed by Liverpool PCT, to improve the health of employees by encouraging a healthier lifestyle. The Charter covers everything from healthy eating and smoking cessation, to promoting good mental health and advice on preventing sickness absence.
