United Biscuits has boosted its attendance levels at its UK biscuit and snack factories following the introduction of an incentive scheme where employees can be entered into a draw to win a car if they do not take any time off sick.

The scheme has led to an increase in employee attendance of four percentage points. All 7,500 employees across UB's 15 manufacturing and office sites are eligible to join the 100% attendance scheme which was launched in June 2006.

UB has offered 32 prizes of health and leisure vouchers, each worth £500, for every six-month period, with an average of two prizes per site. Those employees with a 100% attendance record across the year are also entered into an annual draw to win one of five Vauxhall Corsa cars.
Loretta Rodgers, an HR adviser, said: "In a manufacturing environment if one person is off work, it can affect the whole production line. Now [workers] are thinking about how their teams will manage if they are not there."