Small businesses have been warned not to deny employees sick pay for days taken off, or risk an increase in absenteeism.

Croner Consulting said that employers should not follow the example of Tesco, which has stopped all sick pay for staff who miss work.

The consultancy firm said that small firms that adopt the same policy will risk an increase in absenteeism as employees will feel less guilt about taking days off.

Croner claimed that other, less drastic methods, can help reduce absenteeism, including:

  • Take a serious approach to absenteeism by closely monitoring absence levels of all workers.
  • Make the employee aware that their absence has been noted. Consider arranging a meeting to sort out any health problems or to catch up on work they have missed.
  • Take disciplinary action if an employee is found to be taking sick days that are not genuine.

Sick leave is a particular problem for small businesses, who often do not have the resources to cover absent workers.

The rise in stress-related absence has become a major headache for many employers, with an estimated 90 million working days lost in the UK a year due to under-strain employees.

Richard Smith, employment law specialist at Croner, said that denying sick pay to staff can potentially backfire.

“Employees may feel they are being given the liberty to take a guilt-free day off knowing they are not getting paid, and levels of short-term absenteeism could even increase.

“Employees do not have any grounds for complaint providing the sick pay policy is consistent with their contract of employment.

“However, if an employer is thinking of following in Tesco’s footsteps, they must consult their employees first. Failure to do so could result in employees suing for loss of wages, or constructive dismissal,” he said.