Case Study

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Results
  • - Sickness absence reduced by 46%

  • - Increased transparency

  • - Improved management tools

  • - Compliance tracking of managers responsibilities

  • - Gained on average 141 extra working days of productivity per month
Reduction in absence days
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Engineering absence rate - 2007 to 2010
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When bus drivers call in sick, members of the public can be left standing in the rain – but this is just one reason why First London and Berkshire Buses wanted to better manage absence. The company also wanted to reduce the cost of providing sickness cover and introduce consistent processes throughout its depots. Through its work with FirstCare, it has reduced absence by 46% across its engineering staff and made significant financial savings.

As with most successful initiatives, the absence management project at First London and Berkshire Buses was driven by the desire to improve performance. Every time a driver is absent, the company must pay a substitute driver to cover the shift as well as sick pay where appropriate. This results in high operating costs. In the event that First London is unable to find a substitute driver, the knock-on effect can be even more significant, leading to customer complaints and performance penalties that impact on its contractual obligations with Transport for London.


“We knew that our absence rates needed improvement. We were wasting money on absence cover and had to take steps to address this.” says Dave Fielding, Business Support Manager.


In addition, the company has a large number of depots and the lack of consistency in how absence management processes were applied contributed to a significant disparity between sites. “This inconsistency led to allegations of unfairness from the unions. What we needed was a new, clear approach to absence management that could be rolled out across all grades within our business,” says Fielding.

To achieve this, First London settled on using the FirstCare service. “We were impressed by the unique selling point - that calls were led by qualified nurses,” recalls Fielding. “Through this, we saw a way to tackle absenteeism and provide our staff with 24 hour access to free, qualified medical advice at the same time.”


First London employees call FirstCare 24/7 to report their absence, discuss their symptoms, receive advice and agree a likely return to work date. Line Managers are kept informed at every step, with real-time prompts outlining their responsibilities and required actions. Fielding says: “We stress to everyone that FirstCare does not manage our absences, but it gives our managers effective support and the tools to do the job.”


Four years later, First London continue to work in close partnership with FirstCare who, through proactive and committed account management, help ensure that year on year success is maintained, contributing to a 46% reduction in absence across all engineering staff since 2007.

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