Surge in ‘apathetic’ employees failing to turn up to work


Eir Nolsoe
Sun, 18 February 2024 

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Companies are struggling with a wave of “apathetic” and mentally unwell staff simply not turning up to work, a leading employment lawyer has said.

Nick Hurley, partner and head of employment at Charles Russell Speechlys, said his firm had seen the number of businesses seeking advice on what to do about unexplained absences more than triple since the pandemic.

Mr Hurley told The Telegraph: “What we have noticed is in those sectors where perhaps wages and skills are a little lower, there is a definite increase in the number of employees who are just not showing up to work – and leaving the employer in the doo-doo, as it were.”

The sharp rise reflects “the growing preponderance of mental health issues” and a “sense of apathy” among staff who often skew younger, he said. The issue is most acute in sectors such as retail and hospitality.

Conditions like depression and anxiety have become far more widespread since the pandemic, particularly among young people. It has contributed to a surge in the number of people out of work because of long-term sickness, reaching a record 2.8 million.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) last week warned that rising worklessness was partly to blame for Britain falling into recession.

Mr Hurley said the increase in staff going AWOL was also being driven by workers feeling confident they could “pick up work fairly quickly” elsewhere.

Many companies are still struggling with crippling staff shortages, with the unemployment rate close to historical lows at 3.8pc.

Mr Hurley said: “Particularly in the restaurant sector, hospitality, wherever you go there seems to be signs up saying: ‘Staff wanted’.”

A post-Covid shift to more “permissive ways of working” has also come with a “greater chance of people gaming their employers and taking some advantages”, he added.

As a result, workplaces are faced with large costs from having to seek legal advice on their disciplinary options and arranging last-minute cover.

No official data is collected on unexplained missed days. However, a 2022 survey of 158 companies that collectively employed more than 300,000 staff found one in three workplaces had taken formal disciplinary action over unauthorised absences since the pandemic.

Companies are also seeking far more advice about mental health than before Covid.

Meriel Schindler, head of the employment team at Withers, said: “There has been a rise in inquiries from employers about how to deal with mental ill health issues in the workplace.

“Employers are having to deal with things that they did not use to have to deal with, including really quite serious mental health issues.”

Most employers she acts for have clauses in staff contracts that can require them to arrange reviews by occupational health or by a psychiatrist. However, backlogs in the NHS make this difficult.

Ms Schindler said: “There are not enough occupational health therapists and specialists out there to deal with the amount of advice that employers need. It is very difficult to get seen by a psychiatrist. That puts enormous pressure on employers because they can’t fix appointments.”

The trend comes amid a surge in ill-health since Covid, with sick days rising to their highest level in 18 years in 2022 according to the ONS.