Bosses back 'sickie' lie detectors
Updated on 12 May 2008
Lie detectors could one day be used to spot people who are "pulling a sickie" from work.
The technology is already being used to identify people making fraudulent benefit claims.
After successful trials at seven councils, anti-fraud minister James Plaskitt announced last week that the scheme would be extended.
Now employers have given a cautious welcome to the idea of using the Voice Risk Analysis (VRA) system to identify people who may be lying when they phone in sick.
Susan Anderson, director of human resources policy at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said the technology could be very useful.
She said research from the CBI and insurance firm AXA showed that employers believe 12% of absence was not genuine and that these 'sickies' amounted to 21 million lost days every year, costing businesses £1.6 billion.
But she added that employers did not want to behave like Big Brother so the technology would be best used as part of a range of incentives and penalties.
The technology works by identifying changes in a caller's voice which may indicate they are not telling the truth.
Lawrence Knowles, managing director of software and outsourcing firm Midland HR, told Personnel Today that VRA would soon be a useful tool in reducing sickness absence.
"If lie detectors can detect benefit fraud, then why not look at the application of the technology in absence management?" he said. "If you know there is a lie detector on the other end of the phone, I'm pretty sure most people would think twice."
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