Agenda item

Jennifer Jackson, Corporate Personnel Manager and Sue Croughan, Head of Human Resources addressed the Committee on the Council’s Attendance Management Framework and Attendance Management Policy. It detailed NBC’s position on sickness absence levels, what the Authority was doing to address absence levels and gave a clear indication of the roles and responsibilities of line managing sickness absence.

NBC’s sickness absence levels were higher than average.  There had been a steady rise in sickness absence over the past four years to 13 average days (5%) per full time employee for the period ending 31 March 2004.  Councils in the upper quartile had sickness absence of eight days (3%) per full time employee. We consistently failed to achieve our own targets with an average 17,000 days lost across the organisation.

Improving sickness absence was a key priority in the Recovery Plan.  The target was to be in the upper quartile by 2006/07.  The target for 2004/05 was 11.5 days per full time employee.   Details of data for the first quartile would be analysed by January 2005.

The impact of absence equated to £1.8 million. If overtime and replacement cover figures were included this figure would increase to £2 million.  (Further work on meaningful data was needed.)

Measures that would be introduced as the most effective to reduce sickness absence included: -

• Return to work interviews
• Early Occupational Health referral
• Robust trigger points for management action
• Steps to guide managers through short/long term absences
• Emphasis on monitoring and evaluating data to identify causes of absence
• Training on absence monitoring

The impact of sickness absence included: -

• Impact on Managers’ time trying to find replacement cover
• Return to work interviews
• Continuity of service delivery
• Morale and performance of employees left to cover the work

The Committee discussed the following concerns:

• Whether there was a policy of departments only permitting a set percentage of staff to be on leave at any one time
• The proportion of sickness absence due to stress
• Whether employees with stress could self-refer to Occupational Health
• The statutory requirement for time off for ante-natal care
• Whether occupational injury sick leave was monitored separately
• Whether assaults on employees were recorded
• Whether Investors in People (IIP) status was being aimed for
• Whether any employees had been dismissed for absence reasons
• The need to monitor occupational injury to identify the profile of NBC
• Ensuring managers managed this effectively
• How to promote a positive attendance culture, people wanting to work for NBC
• Drilling down beyond ‘average’ figures (some off 30 days, some none) to get a real picture.
• Absence breaking the contract of employment   - sanctions
• Cutting some slack to avoid sickness absence when ‘leeway’ is needed

Members were informed that: -

• A Council Policy was not in place for percentage staffing levels, other than for health and safety
• Antenatal care and disability treatment was not dealt with under sickness absence but was monitored in its own right.
• Occupational Health Providers would shortly be hosting an Awareness Day on how to best manage stress.  Employees with stress could not self-refer under the current system.  There would be the opportunity to review the range of services offered by Occupational Health.
• Occupational injury was recorded as part of sickness absence
• Violent instances against employees were reported as part of Health and Safety requirements.
• The target date for achieving IIP was December 2006.
• Details of how many employees had been dismissed due to absenteeism could be given to a future meeting.

The committee thanked J Jackson for her clear and informative presentation on the new system and the data that had informed it.  The framework and policy were judged to be very fair.