Sickness rates highest in call centres

Absence caused by sickness is higher in contact centres in the UK than any other sector, according to a new report.

The ‘Sickness absence from work in the UK’ report, part of the 2008 Economic and Labour Market Review, showed that customer service operations have the highest sickness absence rates in the UK, at 4.8 per cent.

This is in the context of the overall report findings that, in the 12 months up to June 2008, 5.8million working days were lost due to sickness or injury, amounting to 1.5 per cent of total working days.

Sickness absence rates vary between occupations, the review discovered, from two per cent for managers and senior officials, to a higher 3.1 per cent for personal service and secretarial roles.

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