Staff at Swansea Council have taken an average of more than 12 days off sick in the past year, according to a recent meeting. The figure of 12.6 days per full-time employee, excluding school staff and work-related accidents, is slightly lower than the previous year. If school staff were included, the average absence would have been 10.7 days. A significant portion of the sickness absence was from employees off work for 28 days or more, while many staff took fewer than the average 12.6 days off. Notably, social services and the council’s education department reported the highest levels of absence.
Comparing to other councils, Bridgend Council employees took an average of 12.3 days off sick last year, while Carmarthenshire Council reported 11.06 days. In contrast, the Office for National Statistics noted that both public and private sector workers in the UK took an average of 5.7 days off due to sickness and injury in 2022. A report presented to Swansea’s governance and audit committee revealed that the council is likely to be in the mid-table range among Wales’ 22 local authorities regarding sickness absence for the 2023-24 period, although this data has not been officially released yet.
The report author, Rachael Davies, highlighted that sickness absence levels at the council remained relatively stable and explained that setting a target of reducing absences to 10 days per employee was a feasible goal. A new policy for managing absences is currently being finalised, with an emphasis on a case-by-case approach rather than automatic referrals to occupational health after 28 days off. This personalised approach was praised by Councillor Lesley Walton, who noted that treating staff as individuals could lead to faster returns to work, ultimately benefiting the council.
During the meeting, questions were raised about the possibility of deploying staff to different roles if they were unable to resume their regular duties. Julie Davies, a lay committee member, asked for figures illustrating the cost benefits to the council of improving sickness rates. Additionally, the committee learned that Swansea Council had entered a contract with a new agency worker recruitment company, ALS People, coinciding with the award of permanent positions to 34 agency workers throughout 2023-24, out of the current 133 agency staff excluding those in social care.
The meeting shed light on the ongoing efforts within Swansea Council to address sickness absence rates effectively, with a focus on personalised strategies and proactive measures to support staff wellbeing and productivity.