At any one time, a small percentage of the workforce will not be able to work. People fall ill, suffer injuries or become demotivated from time to time. This section is about those employees who cannot work normally for health reasons or, for some other reason, stay off work for shorter or longer periods.

Two projects on absence
The absence rate can be seen as an indicator of the employees' well-being. In addition, absence has financial implications for the company. Two projects are currently in progress at Novo Nordisk to explore what are the best measures to reduce absence.

We distinguish between short-term absence and long-term absence. The first of the two projects focuses on the prevention of short-term absence by developing methods to increase job satisfaction. This project was initiated in 1997 and is led by, and funded in cooperation with, the Danish Institute of Occupational Health. The short-term absence project is expected to be completed by the year 2002.

The second project focuses on reducing long-term absence, defined as more than 28 days in total, by maintaining contact between the company and the employee and by offering measures that may facilitate a speedy return to work. This project was set up in 1998 with representatives from local trade unions, management, Human Resources, Occupational Health Service and Compensation & Labour Relations. The project runs from December 1998 to November 2000.

The results of the long-term absence project will be reported on an interim basis and results of the short-term absence project will be reported upon completion of the project.

Rehabilitation
There are no legal requirements on companies in Denmark
for rehabilitation measures. It is therefore up to each company to decide. Novo Nordisk has a tradition of taking care of employees with rehabilitation needs. In Denmark, this tradition has been formalised into a local rehabilitation policy which came into force in 1992 and covers all Danish employees. The overall objective is to create solutions that give employees an opportunity to return to their work, if they are not prevented from doing so by their disability. The cases can be resolved in a number of ways; the important thing is a willingness to be flexible both on the part of the employee and the employer.

57% remained at work
In 1998, 57% of the rehabilitation cases, equal to 53 people, were kept in work and approximately half of these stayed in their own department. This is generally considered to be the ideal solution because the person is not separated from colleagues and familiar surroundings. However, this solution will rarely be possible in allergy cases where there is a risk of further exposure to allergens.

In a small number of cases, it is recommended that the employee works less hours or reduces his or her normal workload. It is not always easy to find a suitable job with an acceptable level of remuneration for someone with a reduced capacity to work. However, this is now possible in a growing number of cases after new Danish legislation in 1998 created the ´flexjob´ scheme. A ´flexjob´ has become the standard solution for these cases whereby the job-holder receives benefits from the state on top of company pay. The benefits are flexible and are related to the degree of disability.

In 1998, 5% of those who remained at work were retrained. One advantage of retraining is that the individual is given an opportunity to develop both professionally and personally. The training is designed to give the employee skills that compensate for the reduction of his or her working capacity caused by a disability or disease. The training can be either internal or external. Retraining or education, however, is not possible or necessary in every case.

32% left the labour market
Naturally, being told you can never work again is a tremendous blow, but it can also be a relief for those who find work an all-too painful experience.

Early retirement is only applicable in the case of a reduction in working capacity to below 50%. There have been very few cases of disagreement between Novo Nordisk's evaluations and the assessments of the local social security department responsible for awarding early retirement.

11% left Novo Nordisk
We aim to be flexible, but we are unable to solve all cases satisfactorily. The remaining 11% of employees were laid off or left the company for other reasons.

Difficult cases
Most rehabilitation cases are resolved by line managers and human resources consultants (maybe with assistance from the Occupational Health Service department or the social workers), but not all cases are straightforward. That is why a Rehab Team, which consists of a group of experts from various departments, has been set up. It evaluates rehabilitation cases which involve matters of principle or are particularly complicated. This body builds up expertise and ensures that this expertise is available in order to implement the policy fairly and consistently.

Getting used to work again
It can be beneficial to give employees with long-term absence the opportunity to return to work for a few hours each day. The number of hours worked can then be increased gradually instead of waiting for the employee to recover completely and then begin to work full-time.

Another method commonly used is to monitor the level at which the employee is able to work. The evaluation is carried out during prolonged sick leave. The purpose is to identify actual working ability in order to recommend a specific solution, for example an ordinary job, a specially-adapted job or early retirement.