(a)

employee absence was actively monitored and interventions were in place to support managers in the prevention of days lost due to sickness, with an emphasis on stress related absence;

(b)

the impact of sickness on the available working days during the last 12 months was 3.41%;

(c)

the overall target for the Council was an average of 8.49 full time equivalent (FTE) days; the actual average per FTE days lost to sickness was 8.05 FTE days;

(d)

the average days lost in the public sector (local authorities) for sickness absence was 8.7 FTE days; the authority had set a target below the average and proactively managed employee wellbeing initiatives Council wide;

(e)

the leading causes of sickness were reported to be stress, depression, psychological followed by musculoskeletal problems;

(f)

the Council actively managed staff who were off work due to sickness on a day to day basis through its capability policy and procedures; this included Return to Work interviews and Wellbeing meetings;

(g)

sickness absence data was regularly reviewed by managers and Assistant Directors on a monthly basis;  HR Advisors also reviewed the top 100 cases each month directly with the relevant line manager to ensure the appropriate action was being taken;

(h)

Council employees had access to an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which provided guidance on managing work and non-work related stressors through access to a 24/7 helpline and a signposting website as well as up to six free counselling sessions;

(i)

the Council encouraged the use of Occupational Health services wherever relevant; a total of 462 referrals were made to the service in 2014/15.

(j)

there had been no impact on the sickness figures due to staff being transferred out of the authority in the short term;

(k)

a new on line system had been introduced (iTrent) whereby managers were able to log more accurately staff sickness absence and the causes of sickness;

(l)

the cost of sickness in 2013/14 was £290,000; this figure covered additional staff resources that had been required to fill posts whilst members of staff were sick; however, the vast majority of work was undertaken by existing members of staff;

(m)

benchmarking information relating to the private sector was not currently available (there was benchmarking information available for local authorities);

(n)

the purpose of the managing attendance (long term sickness) policy was to promote the wellbeing of employees, ensure a safe working environment and recognise the need for clear, fair and consistent procedures; the policy also clearly sets out the steps to be followed in this process;

(o)

absences which were less than four weeks were classed as short term, absences greater than four weeks were long term;

(p)

an employee was entitled to six months full sick pay in a rolling 12 months;

(q)

the decision to appoint agency staff was either taken at manager level or higher; the use of agency staff was less expensive compared to employing a permanent member of staff, as there were no on costs to budget for;

(r)

stress was defined as consistently high levels of pressure which could lead to depression or mental health issues; it was difficult to distinguish between work related stress and stress caused outside of the work place;

(s)

the Council had in place a stress and resilience policy that formed part of the health and safety standard which each department, service unit, school and team was expected to achieve, monitor and audit;

(t)

an undertaking was given to provide information on the top 10 known reasons for short term absences;

(u)

an undertaking was given to provide data on sickness absence within maintained schools;

(v)

it was a real concern that with the reduction in resources, members of staff were not being put under sustained pressure; there were tools in place for staff to actively manage stress, although overall there was no evidence that this was currently an issue.

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private sector comparators;

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local authority comparators (family group);

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breakdown of reasons for short term absence;

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schools (maintained) data.