Illnesses, accidents: regaining control over absences

An absence is never just a line in a schedule. For a Swiss SME, it quickly becomes a question of salary to maintain, a client to serve, a colleague to replace and a margin to protect. In 2022, the average duration of absence due to illness or accident for a full-time employee in Switzerland was 8.5 days, according to data reported by Corporate Health Services. For a small structure, this volume can be enough to disrupt a workshop, an administrative team or a sales service.

The issue is also financial. Absences related to illness, accident or demotivation would represent nearly 4.2 billion francs for the Swiss economy, or 4 to 5% of the total payroll, according to Weka. For SME managers, the response is therefore not limited to requesting medical certificates. It is played at the crossroads of insurance, payroll, accounting, management and prevention.

The day of absence is paid well before the statistic

In a large company, an absence can be absorbed by internal rotations. In an SME, it often creates a visible gap from the first day: delayed orders, overtime, rescheduled appointments, colleague overload or recourse to temporary staff. The direct cost is relatively easy to identify: salary, social charges, possible replacements, administrative costs. The indirect cost, however, hides in delays, quality, internal tension and sometimes loss of turnover.

For a fiduciary or an accounting service, the challenge is to make these costs visible. A simple analytical accounting, even without a complex tool, can already distinguish absences by department, by type of known cause and by period. The objective is not to point fingers at people, but to understand where the organisation is weakening. A repeated increase in a team may signal a problem of workload, scheduling, training, ergonomics or work climate.

Presenteeism must also be integrated, which is more difficult to measure: the person is at their post, but their productivity is reduced by fatigue, stress or a health problem. Corporate Health Services estimates the annual costs of work-related stress at 6.5 billion francs in Switzerland, including the effects related to absences and presenteeism. For an SME, this reminds that a purely administrative absence policy misses part of the economic risk.

Illness or accident: payroll is not handled by feeling

The first clarification is legal and salary-related: an illness is not managed like an accident. The Code of Obligations, notably Article 324a CO, provides for the employer's obligation to pay the salary in case of incapacity for work, for a duration that depends notably on the years of service and cantonal practices. This framework must be checked on a case-by-case basis, as practices and contracts can modify the concrete way of handling the situation.

In parallel, the Accident Insurance Act requires employers to insure their employees against occupational and non-occupational accidents. This coverage covers medical expenses and provides daily allowances in case of incapacity for work. The Health Insurance Act, focused on the mandatory insurance of residents, also influences the general environment of care, even if it does not replace a company strategy for illness absences.

In practice, the payslip becomes the meeting point between these rules, the employment contract, insurance and accounting. A partial incapacity, a waiting period provided by a policy, an allowance paid to the employer rather than the employee or coordination with an accident can modify the entries. The SME must know who pays what, at what time and on what documentary basis. Without this monitoring, the risk is double: paying too much, paying too little or misaccounting for insurance reimbursements.

The fiduciary has a role of securing here. It can help update the staff regulations, check the consistency between employment contracts and insurance policies, monitor allowance balances and prepare regularisation entries at the end of the period. This work is not spectacular, but it avoids sensitive discussions when the absence lasts or repeats.

Daily allowance insurance becomes a management tool

Insurance schemes are often approached as a cost. In an SME, they should rather be read as a cash flow arbitration. A long absence can put pressure on a company that continues to pay salaries while losing production capacity. A daily allowance insurance in case of illness, when adapted to the size and activity of the company, allows transferring part of the risk. But it must be understood before the incident, not when the medical certificate arrives.

The elements to examine are not limited to the premium. It is necessary to look at the definition of incapacity, waiting periods, exclusions, notification obligations, coordination with salary maintenance and payment terms. A policy advantageous on paper can become disappointing if internal processes do not allow information to be transmitted in time. Conversely, coverage well coordinated with payroll and staff regulations brings predictability to the manager.

The choice also depends on the company's profile. A fiduciary, a digital agency or an engineering firm do not have the same operational risks as a construction company, a shop or a workshop. Physical trades are more exposed to certain types of accidents; service activities may be more sensitive to mental overload, client deadlines and dependence on a few specialists. This analysis must remain cautious and personalised, ideally with the insurer, the fiduciary and, if necessary, a specialised advisor.

Accounting-wise, premiums, received allowances and possible advances must be treated methodically. A long absence can span several accounting periods. If rights and obligations are not documented, the result of the financial year can be distorted. For an SME that closely monitors its margins, the difference between a cost actually borne and a cost reimbursable by insurance is not a detail.

Managers, first alarm before the certificate

The best insurance policy does not replace attentive management. The article in PME Magazine dedicated to the subject highlights the importance of regular exchange with teams. Reformulated in management terms: a manager who knows the real workload, scheduling tensions and field difficulties often detects weak signals earlier. Unusual delays, visible fatigue, repeated errors, irritability or withdrawal can precede a long absence.

However, the SME must avoid two pitfalls: intrusion into the private sphere and inaction for fear of doing wrong. A return interview, conducted tactfully, can focus on the conditions of resumption: work capacity, priorities, possible temporary adjustments, handover of files, clarification needs. The aim is not to discuss a medical diagnosis, but to reintegrate the person without breaking the team.

Training frontline managers is often more effective than a procedure that no one applies. They must know how to report an absence, what information to pass on to HR or the fiduciary, how to organise the replacement, and when to ask for help. An SME that formalises these reflexes gains in fairness: absences are no longer managed differently depending on the manager, seniority or the degree of operational urgency.

Prevention also retains a very concrete dimension. Physical activity, ergonomics, stress workshops, improvement of schedules or clarification of priorities can reduce certain risks, even if the exact effectiveness of a programme is sometimes difficult to quantify. The important thing is to link these measures to observed problems, rather than launching symbolic actions without follow-up.

Clean data to act without monitoring

Monitoring absences requires reliable data, but not a culture of surveillance. Tools like Sunetplus, mentioned by Mobilière, allow centralising and analysing absences. For an SME, the interest is to avoid scattered files, lost information between management, HR, accounting and insurer, as well as late notifications that complicate reimbursements.

A useful dashboard remains simple: number of absences, duration, recurrence, concerned service, status of insurance notifications, impact on payroll. Sensitive medical information must remain protected and limited to what is necessary. The quality of the process counts as much as the tool. Who receives the certificate? Who notifies the insurance? Who adjusts the salary? Who informs the fiduciary? Without clear answers, the SME depends on individual reflexes.

Some companies choose to outsource part of the absence management. Swiss Risk Care, for example, highlights specialised services to reduce the administrative burden. This option may be suitable when there is no internal HR function, or when long cases become difficult to coordinate. However, it does not exempt management from steering the subject: absenteeism remains an indicator of organisational health, not just a file entrusted to a provider.

Teleworking adds a grey area. It can offer flexibility and avoid some short absences, but it can also mask an overload or a health problem that is no longer visible on the premises. An SME benefits from defining clear rules: availability, incapacity notification, right to disconnect, temporary job adaptation and limits between working from home and sick leave.

In the end, managing absenteeism is not about toughening the tone towards absent employees. It is about putting order in a management risk: coherent contracts, understood insurances, secured payroll, trained managers and exploitable data. For a Swiss SME, this discipline protects both cash flow and the employment relationship. And it is precisely in this balance that the fiduciary can bring decisive value, by linking figures, obligations and the reality on the ground.