We undertook a comparative analysis of nurses working in two consecutive years: one in a 40-hour standard working week and the other in a 38-hour week with a rostered day off per month, in order to determine whether there was any effect on absenteeism. We found that total absenteeism between the two years fell significantly from 4.58% to 4.36% ( 2 =5.09, P=0.024). Sick leave decreased but not to a significant degree.

We conclude that the change to the 38-hour week and 19-day month (rostered day off ) arrangements led to a significant reduction in overall absenteeism but not in sick leave. However, the cost in implementing a 19-day month is far in excess of any savings made through absenteeism reductions.