Businesses must look at new ways of keeping their workforce healthy if they are to tackle the rising sick-note culture, Midland employers will be told today.
Dame Carol Black, the Government's director for health and work, will address employers and health professionals at Birmingham's Botanical Gardens as part of the biggest review of the country's workforce.
West Midlands businesses lose 9.5 days a year per employee through sick leave, costing them millions of pounds, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Nationally an average of 8.4 days are lost to ill health per worker, with London having the lowest rate of 7.8 days and the North-east recording the highest with 11.3 days.
Evidence shows being out of work can reduce life expectancy as well as lead to poverty and social exclusion.
More than 240,000 people are currently drawing incapacity benefit in the region, representing 7.3 per cent of the population, of which 53,000 are in Birmingham.
Dame Carol and Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, a minister in the Ministry of Justice, will launch a new Birmingham and Solihull Ill-health and Worklessness Strategy, which aims to identify ways to improve workers' health, helping them to stay in or return to work.
Lord Hunt said: "Holding a job leads to massive health benefits and the Government, through its Health, Work and Wellbeing Strategy, has identified the workplace as an ideal setting for health improvement.
Responses from the Health, Work and Well Being events will be incorporated into the Government's first ever review of workers' health. The report is due to be completed next year.
Dame Carol, who is leading the review, said: "Businesses have millions to lose but individuals have even more at stake. Being out of work can adversely affect people's health, self esteem, and even life expectancy.
"The danger point is when sick leave stretches into long term absence, and people risk sliding into a life on benefits.
"We know 80 per cent of those out of work for six months will be away for five years. After two years claiming incapacity benefits, people are more likely to die or retire than work again."
She added: "We know that those who are in or return to work are healthier, wealthier, and more confident than their unemployed counterparts."
However John Lamb, spokesman for Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, said such schemes still rely on employees "being fair with us rather than swinging the lead".
He said: "Staffing is a huge problem for any business and if there's a high degree of absenteeism it does affect performance and impacts on other employees who have to cover for their colleagues.
"Investing in employee health schemes and company doctors may be the way forward, but we have to hope that people are being fair with us rather than swinging the lead."
Meanwhile, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber will tell a conference on work/life balance in London today that every worker should have the right to ask their employer if they can have a better balance between their jobs and home lives.
The Government is to consult on extending the right of flexible working to parents of children over the age of six, but Mr Barber complained this had sparked "predictable bleating" from employers.
