Aviance, the airport service provider, is rolling out an absence management system after a trial scheme reduced absence levels from 6% to just under 4%. The scheme, which requires employees to report absence to a trained nurse, was tested on 600 employees based at Gatwick Airport and is now being rolled out to the remainder of the company's 17 sites and nearly 5,000 staff. Gary Salmon, general manager for Aviance at Gatwick Airport, said that the system provided by Active Health Partners had helped Aviance to overcome difficulties in maintaining the service it offers to its customers. "Like a lot of companies that deal with quite a heavy industrial workforce, sickness levels can be a bit of a concern. We needed something that would offer an improvement in that area and also add a benefit to staff that would encourage everybody to use the service," Salmon added. The organisation has also extended the service to cover employees' families in order to reduce absence among working parents.