COUNCIL CONCERN AT STRESS DAYS OFF

Long-term absences for over 1000 staff

More than 1000 council employees were off sick long-term last year, new figures show.

And the number of days lost to sick leave has climbed throughout the council despite the introduction of new policies to boost attendance at work.

Stress is one of the major factors, accounting for more than 30 cent of absences, the council’s Partnership and Resources (PDSP) heard.

Of the days lost due to sickness absence from April 1 to December 31 last year, a significant proportion of those absences are attributable to long- term absence. This is defined in the policy as a period of continuous absence “in excess of four weeks,” according to a report by the council’s Human Resources (HR) department.

A breakdown of days lost for the five services with rates above the council sickness absence target indicates of the total number of 2868 days lost in CEO, Finance and Property

Services, 1860 ( 64.85 per cent ) of those days were due to long-term absence by 29 employees.

A report continued: “The average percentage days lost due to long- term absence across the five services was 73.86 per cent. The average percentage of sick days lost due to long- term absence across the council as a whole was 73.63. The average length of long-term absence during the period was 64 days, with the longest absence lasting 261 days.”

It added: “Given that ‘ mental and behavioural’ absences account for 32.41 per cent of all absences, increased promotion of EAP services and other mental health supportive measures will be prioritised.”

Additional staff have been recruited to work on stress action packages for those off with long-term stress.

Julie Whitelaw, head of corporate services, said this was part of a range of improved services and additional measures to help employees.

A spokesperson for the council added: “Our figures show that around four per cent of all working days available across the council last year were lost to longterm sickness absence, which covers a wide range of reasons.

“We know that a significant proportion of the stressrelated absences are not directly related to work and are caused by pressures outwith the work place.

“In society, generally, stress is a widespread issue. Some recent studies have found that 85 per cent of adults may regularly experience some form of stress so there is going to be an impact on large employers, including the council, which is West Lothian’s largest employer.

“We already have a large number of support measures in place for staff including an Employee Assistance Programme which is available 24 hours a day,

“Stress is an issue we take very seriously and we are putting in place more robust mechanisms to look at how further support can be provided.”