Agenda item

Report of Strategic Director, Corporate Services and Governance

The Committee were provided with an update on actions taken since the last monitoring report which was considered by Committee on 25^th June 2018.

The Committee were advised that the focus of this report  was on managing sickness which is due to stress. 

The average sickness day per FTE for the period 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018 was 12.75.  When monitoring absence it is preferable to compare the same reference periods, eg April to March each year, however, as an interim update, the average sickness days per FTE for the period 1 October 2017 to 30 September 2018 has been calculated at 11.82.

The Chief Executive and Corporate Management Team take sickness absence very seriously and in September 2018 considered a report which focussed on how sickness is managed with a ‘deep-dive’ into the actions within Care, Wellbeing and Learning (CWL) Group.  The CMT discussion provides the focus of this report and is detailed below.

·         HR Service will continue to make sure that the Council’s frameworks for managing sickness are reviewed regularly.  The policy is currently under review and will be discussed with Trade Union Partners.

·         The roll-out of mandatory sickness absence training also continues.

·         The HR service also provides comprehensive sickness data to management teams to enable effective and timely case management.

·         Corporate Management Team focussed on Care Wellbeing and Learning as sickness across the group is high with some teams running at more than 30 days per FTE.

·         A review of the management of sickness absence was initiated across the CWL group.  This review included consideration of how individual managers are being held to account for the management within their own teams.

·         The Strategic Director of CWL informed all CWL employees of her concerns regarding absence levels and that addressing this issue was a priority for the Group Management Team.

·         CWL piloted the introduction of an additional “informal” stage in the sickness management procedure.  This related to short-term absence trigger points which is where an employee has had three or more separate periods of sickness over the preceding 12 months.

·         There was a mixed reaction from the workforce to this initiative, with concerns about the impact on otherwise good attendees who may have had two unavoidable absences, possibly related to a serious illness.

HR Advice will continue to provide dashboards and more detailed data to services and provide advice and support in order that managers can take appropriate action. 

The review of the Council’s Sickness Policy and Procedure will be progressed with suggestions for improvements being discussed with Trade Union partners.

As part of the North East Better Health at Work Award the task and finish groups established will continue to develop and take forward wellbeing initiatives around the priority areas as identified by employees.

Strategic Directors and Service Directors will continue to monitor and address absence.

RESOLVED -      (i)     That the Committee agreed to receive a report on an annual basis with the 6-montlhy review to be included in the six-monthly assessment of Assessment and Performance and Delivery.

                            (ii)    That members of the Committee will forward suggestions for improvement to the HR Service Director on the Council’s Sickness Absence Policy.

                            (iii)   That the 6-month review report be noted.