Issue - meetings

The Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Resources presented the report and highlighted the following points for Members’ consideration.

·                The fall in the average number of days claimed due to sickness by each person compared to the previous quarter had been welcomed as an indication that there would be a subsequent decrease in the average number of sick days that would be claimed during the year.

·                Sickness absence rates had decreased for both short-term and long-term absences.

·                Support was available to staff experiencing long-term absence due to sickness, including occupational health support.

·                Absence due to sickness was classified as long-term in cases where it extended beyond a 28 day period.

·                Staff absent due to sickness for a long period would be paid during the first 6 months only.  Staff absent for longer periods would continue to receive support wherever possible, though in some instances early retirement might be considered a suitable resolution to the situation.

·                Whilst levels of long-term absence due to sickness for staff in Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS) appeared to be high it had declined when compared to the previous quarter.

The Board discussed the report and noted that the statistics relating to the WRS could be considered as part of the WRS Joint Scrutiny Task Group review.  There had been some initial problems with long-term sickness absence in the service and some staff, with the changes to a new service provision.  The staff are being supported back to work by the HR and management team at WRS.

The potential for Members to interpret the statistics effectively was debated.  Whilst detailed information was provided about both long-term and short-term sickness absence as well as the support available to staff, the numbers of staff affected were not detailed.  Furthermore, the numbers of staff employed in each department had not been provided for comparison purposes, which made it difficult to assess the levels of sickness absence in each department effectively.  For this reason it was suggested that these figures should be provided in future versions of this report.

RESOLVED:

(a)       that the WRS Joint Scrutiny Task Group be asked to consider sickness absence statistics for staff as part of the review; and

(b)       the report be noted.