Printed for the Cabinet. July 1949
Page 172..
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SECRETOR
C.P. (49) 156
20th July, 1949
CABINET
Copy No.
31
INVOLUNTARY ABSENTEEISM IN THE ROYAL ORDNANCE FACTORIES
MEMORANDUM BY THE MINISTER OF SUPPLY
At the meeting of the Cabinet on 2nd June (C.M. (49) 40th Conclusions, Minute 3), I was invited to circulate a paper on the recent increase in the rate of involuntary absenteeism in the Royal Ordnance Factories.
any
2. The scheme of paid sick leave for Government industrial employees, which came into operation on 1st September, 1948, and which is subject to review at the end of two years from that time, provides, in brief, that, after a qualifying period of service of six months, employees may, in any period of one year, be granted sick leave with full pay up to a maximum of thirteen weeks, National Insurance benefit. Full pay means the employee's ordinary time rate, but the first three days of sickness are not paid for unless absence extends to five days. After five years' qualifying service a further period of leave on half pay may be given. The issue of pay is conditional upon production of medical evidence of incapacity furnished by a qualified medical practitioner, and, in practice, there is accepted for purposes of the Scheme the same certificate as is issued by the private doctor (normally National Health Service doctor) for National Insurance purposes.
3. The percentage of working days lost by industrial employees of the Royal Ordnance Factories on account of absence covered by medical certificate in each of the months following the introduction of the Scheme, with comparable figures for the preceding five years, is shown in the following table :—
Month
1948-49 1947-48 1946-47
1945-46
1944-45 1943-44
Per
Per
Per
Per
Per
Per
cent.
cent
cent.
cent.
cent.
cent.
September
3.5
2.5
3.0
4.7
5.7
6.2
October
5.1
2.8
3.2
5.2
5.8
6.4
November
6.0
2.9
3.4
5.3
5.4
7.4
December
6.1
2.7
2.9
5.1
5.3
7.6
January
7.6
3.2
4.5
6.1
6.7
7.2
February
8.1
3.1
5.0
5.5
6.1
6.5
March
9.0
2.7
4.3
4.8
5.3
6.1
April
7.1
2.4
3.0
3.6
4.7
5.3.
6
4. Even allowing for some variation in the incidence of sickness from year to year, these figures show, that, taking the Royal Ordinance Factories as a whole, there was a marked increase in absences due to certified sickness compared with the year preceding the introduction of the Scheme. The increase is not so marked if a comparison is made with earlier years, but the years 1943-45 were war years when many the employees were on a three-shift system, we suffering the effects of fire-watching, black-out, long hours and difficult transport, and there
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was considerable employment of married women with forestief responsibilities.
These factors no longer operate and, in addition, a five-day 44-hour working week was introduced in January 1947.
5. Some rise in sickness absence rates was expected on the assumption that prior to the introduction of the Paid Sick Leave Scheme some workers could not afford to be away sick when their income in such circumstances was largely governed by the rates of National Health Insurance benefit in operation prior to July 1948 (a maximum of 18s. weekly for a man and less for women). These rates were increased in July 1948 (when the National Insurance Act, 1946, came into operation), but the gap between sickness benefit and full wages is still considerable.
6. Enquiries have produced no evidence of any marked increase in the general level of sickness in industry at large since September 1948, nor could any considerations peculiar to Royal Ordnance Factories be discovered which would account for an increased rate of sickness absenteeism in those Establishments. The conclusion is, therefore, reached that the rise in sickness absence in these Factories is almost wholly due to the introduction of the Paid Sick Leave Scheme, of which employees were taking the fullest possible advantage.
7. It is estimated that annual expenditure at the rate of £600,000 is being now incurred as a result of the Paid Sick Leave Scheme for no return in work. Apart from the cost, the high rates of absence are having an effect on the productivity of the various Royal Ordnance Factories which may be more marked than the actual rates of sickness absence suggest, because there is considerable dislocation of group working arrangements.
8. There is little doubt that the present rate of sick absence in the Factories is closely linked with the morale of the workers and their environmental conditions, and with their general sense of responsibility towards the privileges conferred by the Scheme. Thus, in the Royal Ordnance Factory, Glascoed, in South Wales, sickness absence since the introduction of the Paid Sick Leave Scheme has risen sharply from about 4 per cent. to a peak of 17 per cent. in the case of male workers. (The figures for women were 7 per cent. and 20 per cent.) On the other hand at Woolwich, which is a long-established factory, situated in an area in which employment has been good and where there is a settled tradition among the workpeople, the increase in sick absence, while noticeable, has been much less marked-i.e., from about 2 per cent. to 4 per cent.
9. There are many financial inducements which now encourage sick absence. It can attract worthwhile rebates and even repayment of income tax, and, under the new Budget arrangements, National Insurance Sickness Benefit is itself now freed from tax. While the amount must vary widely in individual cases according to personal circumstances, such as prior earnings and the marital position, it is estimated that it could be of the order of £1 or more a week. To this must be added savings in travelling expenses, and the combination of all these factors (including possible receipt of sick club benefits) may mean that the worker is better off financially when sick than when at work. This is not only an obvious challenge to his honesty but it also raises a sociological question which has not hitherto become acute in Government industrial employment.
10. I have no doubt that many Royal Ordnance Factory employees are remaining absent sick for as long as their doctors will certify them as unfit for duty. It is not unreasonable to assume that, in these days when increased work is being thrown on the individual doctor, normally the National Health Service doctor, much of the initiative for prompt return to duty (and for that matter refraining from going off sick at the slightest pretext) must necessarily rest with the employee himself.
11. Although the factors influencing sick absence within the framework of the present Scheme can thus be assessed, it is not so easy to determine and apply a remedy. Since in present circumstances little or nothing can be done in the way of tighter medical certification, the broad lines of approach would appear to be (a) some regularised system of welfare visitation which in addition to securing the earlier return to work of an employee who is doubtfully unfit mehgals Brugolight cases where the "unfit" emplgred 73662king private work on his own account during sick absence and (b) the longer term policy of educating workpeople to a better sense of their responsibilities.
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recently been considered on the agenisty OffбSupply Joint Industrial Council and the matter is also coming up for re-examination at the next meeting of the Joint Co-ordinating Committee for Government Industrial Establishments, due to take place on 28th July next. In addition, the Joint Parliamentary Secretary (Mr. Jack Jones, M.P.) who is Chairman of the Ministry of Supply Joint Industrial Council, and the Trade Union Vice-Chairman will be addressing a number of meetings of the workpeople in the Factories on this matter.
13. Any amendment of the Scheme at the end of the two years' trial period either to secure that the total receipts (including any income tax concessions) of an employee when sick should not exceed his normal earnings when at work or to improve the Scheme in other directions would be a matter for consideration by the -Joint Co-ordinating Committee for Government Industrial Establishments.
Ministry of Supply, W.C. 2. 20th July, 1949.
G. R. S.
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