Employers hit by surge in ‘apathetic’ staff who fail to show for work

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 Covid.

Mr Hurley told The Telegraph: “In those sectors where perhaps wages and skills are a little lower, there is a definite increase in 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 are often younger, he said. The issue is most acute in sectors such as retail and hospitality.

Conditions such as 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 2.8m.

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 rise 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.

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.

Employers are having to deal with things that they did not use to have to deal with. There are not enough occupational health therapists and specialists out there to deal with the amount of advice that employers need.”