High rate of sickness absence amongst council staff 3/6/14
Western Isles council staff are off sick for an average of 10.4 days each according
to a new report.
The figure which excludes teachers is less than before but still has to improve says
the Accounts Commission.
The councils’ watchdog said island teaching staff were absent through illness 7.2
days on average in 2013 - above the national average of 6.6 days.
The Comhairle is tackling the problem and expects to introduce further improvements
in reducing the amount of sick days staff taken this year.
It is hoped the average absence amongst teachers will fall to 5.6 days when the 2014
figures are confirmed - which would be nearly half the level it was in 2008/09.
The Comhairle has achieved overall reductions in the levels of workers going off
ill compared to a rise amongst local authority staff nationally.
A stricter policy for special leave has saved £30,000. For the past 12 months, it
has employed a temporary assistant to implement sickness absence procedures and target
key areas needing attention.
There has been a focus on providing support to home carers where occupational health
has signed them off from work.
The report said: “To date, five home carers who were previously on long-term sick
leave, either have returned to work or are no longer employed by the Comhairle.”
Attention is now on the “remaining 30 long-term sick leave cases within home care.”
The Comhairle continues to suffer “difficulties” in identifying the underlying causes
for its high level and increases in sickness absence, points out the report.
This is blamed on departments' having their own different approaches to recording
how and why staff are off work.
