Absenteeism in SMEs: how to reduce costs through prevention and insurance

Absenteeism in SMEs: reducing costs through prevention and insurance

Absenteeism isn't just an HR issue. For an SME, it's a matter of business continuity: delivering, invoicing, maintaining quality, and protecting employees. The good news: in Switzerland, the legal and insurance framework is clear. The not-so-good news: it quickly becomes costly if the company doesn't manage it effectively (vague internal rules, late reporting, and impromptu returns to work).

The aim of this reading is to help you make an informed decision on three complementary levers: preventing, ensuring, and organizing the return to work.

1) Quantifying absenteeism in SMEs to make decisions (without unnecessary "average" figures)

A macro reference point for framing, not for comparison

At the national level, the average duration of absences due to illness or accident increased in Switzerland from 2010 to 2024, rising from 44.3 to 59.1 hours per year per workplace (peaking at 65.6 hours in 2022).

This figure serves to highlight the stakes. Your decisions, however, must be based on your data.

Your cost model, in 3 blocks

For an SME, the key is to distinguish:

• direct costs: maintaining salary, replacement, overtime, temporary work, administrative management;

• indirect costs: delays, rework, decreased quality, increased manager workload;

• risk costs: recurring claims, premium increases, difficulties in reintegration.

A simple method: create three internal scenarios (short, medium, and long absences) and include your variables (hourly cost, replacement cost, scheduling dependency, critical roles). The goal is not absolute accuracy, but comparability and the ability to make informed decisions.

2) Swiss framework explained clearly: illness, accident, who pays for what and when

Accident: LAA mandatory and 8-hour threshold

In accordance with the LAA (Accident Insurance Act), the employer insures workers against accidents and occupational diseases. Anyone working at least eight hours per week for the same company is also insured against non-occupational accidents.

The SME Portal also reminds us that, below the 8-hour threshold, non-work-related accidents are not covered by the employer (with specific rules, particularly for the shortest home-work journey) and specifies that AANP bonuses are borne by the employee: the employer pays them with the AAP and then deducts them from the salary.

Accident: what it changes in cash flow

Suva indicates that the daily allowance in case of accident or occupational disease is:

• begins on the third calendar day after the event;

• corresponds to 80% of the guaranteed gain;

• and mentions a maximum guaranteed salary of CHF 148,200 per year (fact sheet 2010.F, edition 01.01.2016).

Pilot reading: the real point of friction is often the waiting period (the first two days) and the company's ability to organize a suitable return rather than a prolonged shutdown.

Illness: obligation to maintain salary and "equivalent" insurance solution

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) reminds employers that they must pay full salary in case of illness for a period determined by the year of service, if the employment relationship has lasted more than three months (or was concluded for more than three months). It also reminds employers that in the first year, they must pay at least three weeks' salary, followed by a longer period determined equitably; the courts refer to salary scales (including the Bernese scale, particularly in French-speaking Switzerland).

The same document specifies that daily allowance insurance covering 80% of salary for 720 days is considered equivalent to the legal obligation, under certain conditions (including payment of at least half of the premium by the employer). It also mentions the practice of a 1 to 3-day waiting period accepted according to case law.

Proof and confidentiality: medical certificate

SECO indicates that the employer can request a medical certificate from the first day, that it must specify the total or partial incapacity (and the degree), and that it must not contain a diagnosis.

3) The "pilot, document, monitor" method (Management, CFO, HR)

Steering: simple, applicable decisions

1. A standard process of announcement and contact (who calls, when, how).

2. A uniform rule on certificates (fairness, no improvisation).

3. A process of attendance and return maintenance (manager + HR).

4. An escalation strategy (when to activate insurer, case management, planning).

What needs to be documented

• absence register (coded reasons, without sensitive medical data);

• certificate procedure (when requested, storage, access);

• Accident reporting procedure and declaration to the insurer;

• return-to-work interview model (work capacity, accommodations);

• return to work plan (adapted tasks, schedules, checkpoints);

• police and contacts (LAA, daily allowances), with a "claims" checklist.

Health Promotion Switzerland describes absence management as the systematic recording and management of absences, with appropriate and specific intervention in case of absence.

Follow: a lightweight, but monthly dashboard

A monthly follow-up by Management-CFO-HR is often sufficient: volume of absences, frequency, average duration, distribution by team, reporting deadlines, ongoing returns.

Mini case study 1 (SME in the service sector, short absences)

The problem: repeated short absences that disrupt scheduling. The helpful solution: standardize the return-to-work interview, clarify the "certificate" rule, and document temporary adjustments (tasks, hours) instead of handling each case based on intuition. The framework for certificates and partial incapacity is outlined by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

4) Prevention and return to work: the most stable lever on costs

Effective prevention starts with your dominant causes (accidents, physical constraints, fatigue, workload and stress) and results in monitored measures: an action, a person responsible, a control date.

Suva presents workplace health management (WHM) as a comprehensive approach that improves health, enhances performance and reduces absences.

For absences following an accident, reintegration is a concrete tool. Suva emphasizes the benefits of adapted workstations and indicates that its case managers encourage a return to the workforce.

5) Insurance: structuring coverage to avoid blind spots (and negotiate better)

Illness: clarify the framework and level of coverage

The SME Portal indicates that in practice, most daily sickness benefit insurances pay at least 80% of the salary for 720 or 730 days in a period of 900 days.

The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) points out that there are two legal systems: daily allowance insurance under the Federal Law on Health Insurance (LAMal) or under the Federal Law on Insurance Contracts (LCA) (private law). And, under LAMal, in the event of a 50% incapacity for work, allowances must be paid for at least 720 days within a 900-day period.

Accident: linking prevention, claims and premiums

Suva explains that premiums vary depending on the sector and that different models apply depending on size (base rate, bonus-malus, empirical pricing). It also indicates that accident prevention efforts can help reduce premiums.

Mini case study 2 (SME with field activity)

A key employee suffers a non-work-related accident. Daily accident benefits under the Swiss Accident Insurance Act (LAA) begin on the third day and are calculated at 80% of the insured earnings (according to Suva). The company has an interest in activating a return-to-work plan early (modified tasks, checkpoints) rather than waiting until the end of the leave.

Guidelines and checklist

• Management: validate an absence policy (roles, confidentiality, escalation).

• CFO: validate the cost model (3 scenarios) and a review ritual.

• HR: maintain the register, train managers, control the quality of documentation.

• Managers: conduct interviews, document arrangements, report feedback.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

1. Pilot by feel and without a monthly dashboard.

2. Treat each absence as a unique case: consistency is documented.

3. Confusing prevention and communication: a measure without ownership or control will fail.

4. Not checking the effect of the 8-hour threshold on ANP coverage.

Questions to ask your insurer/broker (10 questions)

1. How does the coverage relate to our employment contracts and internal policy?

2. What are the waiting times and who bears the cost during those days?

3. Are we receiving daily sickness benefits under LAMal or LCA, and what are the practical implications?

4. What support services (case management, rehabilitation, return to work) are included, and how do you activate them?

5. What data do we need to provide for an annual review (claims, measurements, classification)?

6. How is the 8-hour threshold verified for part-time work, and what are the consequences in the case of multiple employers?

7. What are the deadlines and documents required to report a claim, and what happens in case of a late report?

8. How are partial disability and gradual return to work handled?

9. What options exist to cover blind spots (waiting period, salary supplements)?

10. What follow-up system do you recommend over 12 months (review, prevention, return to work)?

Conclusion

Reducing absenteeism costs starts with effective management: making your cost scenarios visible, documenting simple and fair rules, and following a logic of prevention and return to work. Insurance then becomes a lever for business continuity rather than a burden.

Next useful step: consolidate your data over 12 months, clarify your internal rules, then organize a "prevention + insurance" review with your insurer or broker, based on a documented file.