NEW figures reveal the Vale Council has missed the targets it set to reduce levels of staff sickness absence during the 2023/24 financial year.
Vale Council full-time employees, excluding those who work in schools, missed an average of 11.26 days during the last financial year, a reduction on the 2022/23 figure of 14.08, but short of the council’s annual target of 10.36.
In other words, the average Vale Council full-time employee missed more than two weeks of work during the year due to sickness.
Viral infections were the most common reason given for short-term absences at 34.6%, whereas the most prevalent reason given for long-term absence, meaning it lasted four weeks or more, was non-work-related stress at 20.4%.
The worst month for staff absence due to sickness was October, where 4,299 days were lost, whereas in August the figure stood at just 2,150.
There were significant variations in sickness levels among the different council departments. Levels were at their highest in Social Services, where a total of 8,929 days were lost, at an average of 13.68 days per full time employee.
The figure was at its lowest in Directorate of Place (the department responsible for regeneration and planning), where 390 days were lost due to sickness at an average of just 3.90 days per full-time staff member, which comfortably beat the set target of 5.90 days.
Among the Social Services department, viral infections were the most common reason given for short-term absence, accounting for 26.2% of days lost.
The primary reason for long-term absence in Social Services is given as ‘Other’, and it is a category that has not existed in previous years.
According to the council’s definition, ‘Other’ absence can include specific illness related to cancer and other serious conditions. ‘Other’ accounted for 25.2% of long-term absence in the Social Services department during the year, followed by non-work-related stress at 20.3%, which the council categorises as anxiety and/or depression, bereavement, medical stress, mental health, family issues and stress at home.
For staff employed in schools, viral infections accounted for 39% of short-term absences, while the biggest cause of long-term absence was non-work-related stress, which accounted for 16.5% of absences.
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