The miserable weather has made someone happy and not just the water companies for once!
Across the board the wet weather has caused a drop of absenteeism rates amongst employees of 17%.
It seems that hard rain discourages “duvet days” and encourages productivity though this of course depends on your market and industry.
The annual cost of absenteeism costs
A key element of controlling the regular short term absenter who “self-certifies” is by the conduct of a return to work interview each time the employee returns to work after a period of absence. It can be used by the line manager to identify and check underlying medical conditions and to seek their own medical advice as to what reasonable adjustments may prevent any recurrences.
Similarly it can be used as deterrence against “skivers” who may find it easier to pretend sickness by phone or email or letter but not face to face.
Any business can have these interviews written into terms and conditions of employment or business policy documents as required.