Employees' sick leaves cost the economy billions of zlotys
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    Employees' sick leaves cost the economy billions of zlotys

    29 May 2018

    Polish employees expect non-salary benefits from their employers. Medical care packages are still considered the most attractive of them, becoming standard among employers. More and more companies decide to invest in healthcare packages, seeing them as an opportunity to minimize costs associated with employees' sickness absences. Only in 2017, Polish employers spent more than PLN 6 bn on short-term sickness allowances, not to mention costs related to organizing replacements, unmet deadlines, or overtime payments to other employees.

    Statistics show that in Poland, the number of employee absences and the related costs for the state budget and employers have been increasing year by year. In 2017, the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) spent over PLN 10 billion on sickness benefits, while employers paid out PLN 6.5 bn in sickness allowances for sick leaves of up to 33 days. Medicover Polska data shows that the most common causes of absenteeism were diseases of respiratory, locomotor, digestive, and circulatory systems, as well as injuries and poisonings. The average sick leave lasted twelve days.

    The cost of employee absenteeism is huge, counted in billions of zlotys for the economy as a whole. This is something we cannot avoid, but also something we can minimize, hence any actions that serve this purpose are very positive.

    Artur Białkowski, Vice President of  Medicover Poland

    According to a Medicover Polska report, the highest level of sickness absences occurs among workers employed in production who work in shifts – over 17 days per person per year. Employees' absences disorganize work in the company and generate additional costs related to potential replacements, especially when hiring employees from outside the enterprise, overtime payments to other workers, losses due to failure to meet deadlines. Employers also bear costs resulting from something called presenteeism.

    It is a situation in which a sick employee comes to work. Firstly, he or she is less effective, and secondly, spreads the infection among co-workers, causing the absenteeism to grow.

    Artur Białkowski, Vice President of  Medicover Poland

    Aware of the cost incurred due to employee absenteeism, companies are increasingly willing to invest in healthcare for their employees. Benefits of this kind are slowly becoming standard and are offered not only to top-level employees, but also to those occupying lower positions in the company's hierarchy. Healthcare packages are also provided by companies from the small and medium-sized enterprise sector.

    Such companies are often founded by former employees of corporations, who themselves benefitted from such healthcare packages and know perfectly well how much they boost employees' engagement. Consequently, they decide to provide such benefits to their own employees.

    Artur Białkowski, Vice President of  Medicover Poland

    Benefits related to healthcare are also a way to increase employee's loyalty and engagement. Such perquisites also enhance the company's appeal among potential employees and help attract the best candidates on the job market. One study shows that more than 46% of the surveyed employees consider the healthcare package to be the most attractive employee benefit.

    We know perfectly well from many of our clients that it is exactly this that makes it so much easier for them to acquire good employees from the market, especially today, when we have very low unemployment rates and employees are in shortage. Hiring good staff becomes a key challenge for employers.

    Artur Białkowski, Vice President of  Medicover Poland

    Employers are also interested in non-salary benefits other than medical care packages. More and more companies offer their employees gym cards or cinema/ theatre tickets through benefit platforms, such as one run by Medicover Benefits. Employers can allocate their social benefit funds for use by employees on such a platform, providing them with choice with regard to what kind of benefit they want to benefit from.

    We have recently introduced a car lease benefit to the platform, which enables employees to lease a car instead of buying it. Employees can sign a contract for a year or two, paying a fixed monthly rate, and opt for a new car when the contract expires. This option is extremely popular among employees.

    Artur Białkowski, Vice President of  Medicover Poland

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