Employers report steady decrease in absence - Three new surveys show that overall absence levels stabilised or fell gradually last year, although wide variations continue to be reported between sectors and employee groups. Unscheduled absence from work costs UK employers between GBP10 and GBP12 billion a year, according to the research from the CBI, the CIPD and the Industrial Society published earlier in the summer. Although the methodologies differ, so that the surveys report quite different benchmark absence rates, the research does provide a snapshot of how employers seek to manage this important aspect of human resource practice. We look at what the research says about absence levels for different groups of employees, sectors and areas of the country.