Willis Employee Benefits, part of Willis Financial Services, has launched an absence risk management service for employers, which offers a full audit of their internal policies and procedures.

The aim of the service is to identify any areas of a business that may impact on the health of staff and cause absence rates to spiral. Willis will then be able to calculate the potential absence costs associated with these parts of the business and offer advice on how absences can be reduced.

Richard Colver, director group risk and healthcare, said: "We are viewing this as risk management, so we are looking to see what the problems are, then, once we have worked them out, try to actually quantify the problems for the business."

Consultants at Willis Employee Benefits will carry out the audits, which can be tailored to suit each individual organisation.

The length of the audit will depend on the size of the company and the number of workplaces in each.