Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources concerning Attendance Management. A copy of the report, marked “Agenda Item 11” is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussion, the following points were noted:

i)          Members were updated on the total number of days of absence per Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employee; which had continued to decrease to 9.80 in the year to the end of May 2017;

ii)         Regarding the levels of sickness due to stress, depression and mental health within the report, Members were informed that, it was technically possible to differentiate between sickness absence levels for each of these illnesses within the absence reporting system. However, it would be difficult for managers to distinguish between them based on the information supplied by Doctors, which usually categorised them together;

iii)       A deep dive analysis into specific long-term absence cases was undertaken on an annual basis to review specific cases. Members were informed that this showed that not one case was caused by purely work related stress; it tended to be a combination of work and personal issues, leading to the conclusion that the issue was how to support people to remain resilient in all aspects of their life;

iv)       It was emphasised that some managers were addressing sickness absence within their teams effectively and were having open and honest conversations with their staff; however other managers needed more support. A 12 month ‘Intensive Support’ project had been put in place to support managers to improve skills, knowledge and confidence in addressing attendance management issues. It was highlighted that the triage service provided by First Care, where staff spoke with a nurse, would ask those medical questions that managers felt unable to do so;

v)         Members recognised that there were differences in the absence levels of Departments. The Chief Executive’s Department was the only Council department currently with a sickness absence level within the corporate target of 7.5 days. It was highlighted that different factors could distort the data, including the size and culture of the department, the type of workforce and jobs carried out; some of which were physical; the quality of management and the breadth of departmental responsibilities.  It was highlighted that the data needed to be analysed in different ways to prioritise resource and support levels for managers;

vi)       The key aim of the attendance management policy was to bring people back to work as quickly as possible. It was recognised that leaving people in an isolated position at home was not beneficial for those staff with mental health issues. It was part of the manager’s role to explore a variety of return to work options;

vii)      Members found it beneficial to receive a breakdown of long and short term absence. It was noted, however, that additional data in terms of specific numbers was required to fully understand the level of sickness across departments and the number of staff involved;

viii)     There was a range of support for staff with mental ill health, including the in-house wellbeing welfare service, as well as self-help resources on the intranet. Additionally, staff had been trained as mental health first aiders;

ix)       Members raised the issue of the Increments Policy; it was noted that this would be discussed at the Committee meeting in December.

RESOLVED:

a)    That the report on Attendance Management at the end of April 2017 be noted;

b)    That the data detailing levels of sickness by Department would, in future, include the specific number of staff concerned; and

c)      That the Increments Policy be considered by the Committee at their meeting on 7 December 2017.