Your council
Agenda item
Staff Sickness and Absence
(Finance, Performance Management and Corporate Support Services Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report (C/003/2007-08).
Decision:
(1) That the 2006/07 outturn position with respect to BV12 - the number of working days/shifts lost due to sickness absence – be noted;
(2) That the progress made with actions designed to reduce sickness absence be noted;
(3) That the trigger level for management action under the Managing Absence Policy be reduced from 10 days to 8 days in any rolling twelve month period, with a possible further reduction at a later date;
(4) That, in the light of the Authority’s current high sickness levels, the following be conveyed to all staff:
(a) the Cabinet’s recognition of its responsibility for the welfare of all staff and the impact that high sickness levels has on:
(i) those covering for absent colleagues; and
(ii) on service delivery;
(b) the Cabinet’s concern about the high levels of sickness absence experienced in the Authority, and its wish to see these reduce considerably by means of early and appropriate management action under the Managing Absence Procedure: and
(c) the Cabinet’s support for those experiencing attendance difficulties, and its clear commitment to measures to improve attendance.
Minutes:
The Portfolio Holder for Finance, Performance Management and Corporate Support Services presented a report regarding Staff Sickness and Absence. The Portfolio Holder reminded the Cabinet that the Recruitment and Retention Strategy had been evaluated and in future attention would be focused on tackling the increasing sickness absence levels. The Council’s performance for the whole of 2006/07 had shown that on average each employee had taken 10.99 days sickness per year. In December 2003, the Cabinet had approved the addition of an extra Human Resources officer for one year to address sickness absence, which had been filled since February 2007. Under the Managing Absence Policy, there were trigger levels for initiating management action in cases of excessive sickness absence, which during any rolling 12-month period were an employee had had 5 or more separate occasions of absence, or at least ten working days of un/self-certificated or medically certificated absences.
In addition, referrals to the occupational health physician had increased in 2006/07 by 88% to 64, which equated to approximately 10% of the workforce referred for medical advice in that year. The most significant causes of absence were short-term viral and gastric infections. In all cases where the trigger level had been exceeded, officers from Human Resources had liaised with the relevant line manager with the aim of developing an action plan designed to reduce the absence, bring a return to work in the case of long absence or terminate employment. Further analysis had revealed that stress was a key reason for long-term absence, but that in most cases the cause of the stress had been found to be non-work related.
Decisions:
(1) That the 2006/07 outturn position with respect to BV12 - the number of working days/shifts lost due to sickness absence – be noted;
(2) That the progress made with actions designed to reduce sickness absence be noted;
(3) That the trigger level for management action under the Managing Absence Policy be reduced from 10 days to 8 days in any rolling twelve month period, with a possible further reduction at a later date;
(4) That, in the light of the Authority’s current high sickness levels, the following be conveyed to all staff:
(a) the Cabinet’s recognition of its responsibility for the welfare of all staff and the impact that high sickness levels has on:
(i) those covering for absent colleagues; and
(ii) on service delivery;
(b) the Cabinet’s concern about the high levels of sickness absence experienced in the Authority, and its wish to see these reduce considerably by means of early and appropriate management action under the Managing Absence Procedure: and
(c) the Cabinet’s support for those experiencing attendance difficulties, and its clear commitment to measures to improve attendance.
Reasons for Decision:
The communication of the Cabinet’s views and approach to managing sickness absence to all staff would be valuable in sending a clear message about the importance attached to this matter by members, and would support the initiatives designed to improve the current poor performance within the Authority.
Other Options Considered and Rejected:
The Cabinet could have decided not to communicate this matter to staff. However, given the Authority’s current poor performance in managing sickness absence, this would not have been appropriate.
Supporting documents: