HR/Personnel: how sick is sick?

43% of claimants for Incapacity Benefit (i.e. too ill to work) in Scotland are making false claims, the World and Pensions ministry has found. In terms of numbers, that is 64,000 odd who are claiming benefits to which they are not entitled.

But, under Scotland's socialist-driven policies, coming off Incapacity Benefit does not mean they have to get a job. They will be transferred to the Job Seekers' Allowance scheme. But that pays less - although there are "passport benefits" that can add up, from the taxpayer's view, alarmingly.

But if they do not find a job of their choice in a year, new policies require them to take whatever job the government assigns them or lose that allowance.

For employers, the numbers are startling: across the UK as a whole, taking Scotland's figures into account, almost 40% of people claiming Incapacity Benefit are making fraudulent or incorrect claims.

Extrapolate that to those who simply "throw a sickie" or who regard an annual allowance of sick days as additional holiday and the costs to industry rise shockingly. Baldly, if the figures were applied in a ruthless and non-adjusted manner - it means that employers are having to employ 100 people to do the work that should be done by 60.

Some years ago, the owners of a UK owned factory in Malaysia caused consternation by saying that he had to roster-on 110% of the necessary workforce because on any given day an average 10% would not turn up to work. Seemingly, in Scotland, that figure might seem very conservative.