05 Jan 2010
The Forum of Private Business (FPB) warned today that severe weather conditions could cost businesses £230m per day if they do not take steps to enable staff to work from home. The figure is based on one employee per company being off for one day and not working.
FPB research manager Tom Parry said losing key staff because of the weather, even for just a day, is damaging, particularly in the current economic conditions. He said: “It’s important that employers have contingency plans for these occasions and that these comply with employment law.”
Parry added: “Home working is the solution in many cases – although not for manufacturers and retailers – but business owners should be aware that it is their responsibility to ensure that employees’ houses meet health and safety standards.”
According to a recent FPB "cost of compliance" survey, small business employers in the UK spend a total of £391m per year on absence control and management – more than on any other aspect of employment law.
The FPB’s calculation was made using the daily GDP figure, anticipated vehicle breakdown levels from the AA, average salaries and official data reflecting an expected fall in retail sales.
It's amazing just how many people are absent from their workplaces and it's the unfortunate knock-on effect that will take a while for a lot of companies to catch up. I suppose it's like having an extended Christmas holiday period. If the potential losses ring true then FY2010 (i.e. 11 months) could really be a stagnant year vs 2009 - so delayed recovery? Still, the roads are very clear albeit slow. The irony is that we have a 90-100% physical attendance in our office and we provide Video Conferencing Software!
However, we of course are not going to complain about the increase in free trials of our Nefsis application. It shows that a lot of companies are trying to mitigate the problems caused by the weather.
Posted by: Tom Sloan 08 Jan 2010
Thanks for the summary. Many businesses may see this figure and simply not believe that it will affect their comapny's bottom line revenue but if key staff are absent it can have a detremental effect - contracts not getting signed, sales leads falling through the net and debtors not paying on time. As Tesco says 'every little counts' and all these lost days due to bad weather can really start to add up, especially when you factor in schools being closed and subsequent childcare issues.
Posted by: Karen Jones 06 Jan 2010
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