More than half of West Lothian Council’s 8,000 employees were off sick for one or more days last year new figures show.
Council statistics show this was double the council’s targets for absences and a climb in absences since the previous year during the Covid pandemic a report to the Corporate Policy and Resources Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel revealed.
The target is to have no more than 3.6% of staff absent across all seven areas of council operations. From April to December last year the figure was 6.29%.
READ MORE: Interactive service to help West Lothian tenants access repair service
Worst affected in council services was Education with 29,885 days lost, of those 17,987 (60.19%) of were due to long-term absence and were accounted for by 313 employees.
Of the total number of 25,043 days lost in Operational Services, 19,786 (79.01%) of those days were due to long-term absence and were accounted for by 291 employees.
Long term absence was also a feature in Housing, Customer and Building Services. Of the total number of 12,920 days lost 9,933 (76.88%) of those days were due to long-term absence and were accounted for by 159 employees.
In Social Policy which saw 82% of lost days to long term sickness and were accounted for by 229 employees.
Planning, Economic Development and Regeneration saw the fewest days lost- 1,255, with 1,075 (85.66%) of those days were due to long-term absence and were accounted for by 11 employees.
The average percentage of days lost from long term absence across the full council is 73.05%. The average length of long-term absence during the period was 64 days, with the longest absence lasting 196 days.
Mental and behavioural reasons account for almost 30 % of all absence from the council and almost 40% of long term absence.
Further broken down those reasons are predominantly stress work and personal, which accounted for 9,124 days, with 32% being long term and personal stress which accounted for 6,462 days with 21% long term. Work-only stress lost 1,425 days with 4.65% of those long term.
A report by Lesley Henderson, Interim Head of Corporate Services noted that in the third quarter of the year absences across most of the council service areas had fallen.
The council introduced an Employee Assistance Programme through Optima Health in 2018 which provides a telephone- based counselling service.
In additional a pilot survey on workplace stress is being carried out among staff working in the Anti Poverty service. The report added: “A steering group comprising staff, management, trade unions, HR and health and safety has been agreed with the view of providing a comprehensive action plan on how to deal with stressors that may be present in the workplace.”
The report concluded: “Stress continues to be the highest contributor to levels of sickness absence across the council and the focus will continue to be on targeting additional support at those service areas that are reporting high levels of stress related absence.
“The council continues to have a focus on employee health and well-being and a range of actions are being progressed to raise the profile and importance of good employee well-being.”
READ NEXT:
West Lothian Council to build almost 400 homes in five years
West Lothian residents fume as much-loved 'Garden City' to get 300 new homes
West Lothian patients struggle for GP appointments in building boom
West Lothian council recruits 149 more teachers over three years
Use of all West Lothian swimming pools to be reviewed in cost cutting probe
