(HR Policy Committee 9 March 2015)

Transcription

1 Somerset County Council HR Policy Committee 9 March 2015 Paper B Item No. 6 Annual Report on Sickness Cabinet Member: Cllr Anna Groskop, Cabinet Member for HR & Transformation Lead Officer: Richard Williams, Business Development Director Author: Martin Walsh, Strategic Manager HR Policy & Projects Contact Details: / mswalsh@somerset.gov.uk Please complete sign off boxes below prior to submission to Community Governance Seen by: Name Date Legal Honor Clarke 18/02/15 Report Sign off Summary: Recommendations: Reasons for Recommendations: Links to Priorities and Impact on Service Plans: Financial, Legal and HR Implications: Equalities Implications: Risk Assessment: Scrutiny comments / recommendation (if any): Corporate Finance Kevin Nacey 18/02/15 Senior Manager Richard Williams 18/02/15 Cabinet Member Anna Groskop 18/02/15 Governance Julian Gale 18/02/15 This report shows sickness absence across the County Council for the period April 2013 to March To note the content of the report. Annual Report requested by the HR Policy Committee. The policy complies with the Council s Employment Strategy by providing for strong employee motivation, performance management and productivity. The annual loss in terms of productivity is estimated to be equivalent to 2.6m. However, only in services such as 24/7care services is there a real additional cost because in those services there is the need to provide cover for absent staff to ensure safe levels of working. The Council s policy acknowledges that where the effect of an employee's disability results in a need to be absent from work due to illness, this will need to be accommodated as far as is reasonable within the terms of the Equality Act Sickness Absence related to Pregnancy, IVF Treatment or Gender Reassignment is covered in the policy specific to each of these matters. No risks have been identified. N/A 1. Background 1.1. For the period 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014, the average number of fte days lost to sickness absence per fte employee in Somerset County Council, excluding schools, was For the full year , this figure was 9.56 fte days The latest available Local Government Workforce Survey (2012/13) highlighted that B - 1

2 the average sickness absence level in English local authorities was 8.8 days per employee. A CIPD Absence Survey 2014 showed that there was a sickness absence rate of 8.2 days in Local Government, 7.9 days per employee in the whole of the UK Public Sector and 5.5 days in the Private Sector. The latest ONS report has shown that average sick days per year now stands at 4.4 per worker The 2014 CIPFA benchmarking survey of Unitaries, County Councils and Police Forces showed the average level of sickness absence during 2013/2014 as 9.7 fte days per fte employee The table below shows the sickness data broken down by service area. Business Area April 2013 March 2014 Business Development 8.09 Chief Executive 0 Commissioning Adults - Health 3.58 Commissioning Children & Learning 1.62 Commissioning Economic & Community 6.84 Infrastructure Customers & Community 7.24 Finance & Performance 8.75 Operations Adult Health 9.04 Operations Children & Families Operations Economic & Community Infrastructure 4.39 Operations Learning Disabilities Operations Learning & Achievement 4.98 Southwest One (Secondees) 7.00 Total FTE Working Days Lost per FTE Employee The chart below shows the top 6 reasons for sickness absence during the period April 2013 to March Top Reasons for Sickness Absence Working Days Lost Anxiety Stress Psy Other Causes Gastrointestinal Colds Coughs Flu Musculoskeletal Injury Fracture The latest available Local Government Workforce Survey (2012/13) found that the top causes of sickness absence in English local authorities as a whole were: 21.9% of working days lost due to stress, depression, anxiety, mental health B - 2

3 and fatigue) followed by 15% of working days lost due to musculo-skeletal problems In the Council, the comparative figures are: 23.4% of working days lost due to stress, anxiety & psychological reasons 8.5% of working days lost due to musculo-skeletal reasons The chart below provides a more detailed analysis (January September 2014) of stress related absence, which indicates that the proportion of absence occurrence claimed as being work-related may be comparatively small, if we assume that sickness data related to work related stress is recorded correctly on the SAP system. No of incidents - relating to Top 6 Reasons for Sickness Abse April March No of Incidents These charts show that more working days were lost due to anxiety and stress than colds, coughs and flu. However, the number of instances when staff had time off for B - 3

4 coughs and flu was greater than the number of instances when staff had time off for anxiety and stress. In other words, fewer employees were off with anxiety and stress but they each had longer time off work than those who had time off for colds, coughs and flu From 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014, 3.9% of total absences lasted for periods of 28 working days and over. 9.7% of total absences lasted for periods between 6 and 27 working days. 86.5% of total absences lasted for periods of under 5 working days. 2. Strategies for Managing Sickness Absence 2.1. The context for the management of sickness absence in the Council is set by the policy which expects all employees to work to achieve high attendance levels and make absence management effective. Directors are expected to provide clear leadership for the reduction of sickness absence levels and ensure this policy is implemented within the service. Line Managers are expected to ensure every absence is accurately recorded and ensure a return to work interview is conducted with each employee within 5 working days of the return from sickness absence, seeking help, guidance and support from the HR Service or other professionals, e.g. Occupational Health. Employees are expected to take responsibility for their own health, well-being and attendance at work and comply with the sickness absence notification and recording procedures The Council has set a target for sickness absence which is an average of 7fte days per fte in a full year. The HR Service provides sickness monitoring data, on a quarterly basis, to: SLT & Cabinet Members quarterly, via the Workforce Statement SLT, Cabinet and SCC Website via quarterly Corporate Performance Report Health & Safety Service Groups x 4 1) Social Care (Adults & Children s + Commissioning), 2) Schools, SSE & Early Years, 3) ECI Ops & Commissioning and 4) Non-Ops (Business Development, Finance & Performance and Public Health) Working Well Initiative Steering Group Human Resources Policy Committee Health & Safety Policy Committee Central Safety Committee Joint Negotiating Forum with unions 2.3. As part of the 2014/15 audit plan, a review was undertaken by the South West Audit Partnership to assess the adequacy of the controls and procedures in place for Absence Management across the Council. The audit highlighted a strong commitment by the Council in having HR and Health and Safety policies which seek to ensure a healthy and safe work environment is provided to all the staff. Policies seek to embrace good employment practice and encourage a healthy lifestyle by staff The Audit included an examination of sickness reporting and management in the B - 4

5 Learning Disabilities service which operates a system requiring employees to report their sickness absence to an external agency, First Care, which provides immediate health care advice to employees. The Audit provided reasonable assurance that most of the areas reviewed were found to be adequately controlled. It was found that generally risks are well managed but some systems require the introduction or improvement of internal controls to ensure the achievement of objectives. A series of action points has been agreed which includes the need to review the sickness management training for all managers to ensure a greater consistency of management action where staff report sick and to provide a greater level of oversight and support for managers. The Audit reported that there is scope for further development of the data logging and reporting processes through the contract with First Care to maximise the benefits from the contract The Council has just introduced a 9 month pilot available to staff who are suffering from a debilitating musculo-skeletal condition or injury that is causing, or is likely to cause, them to be off work or unable to carry out their normal working duties. The benefits of early intervention are well-documented and it is hoped that the service will help many staff and reduce absences A survey of senior managers has shown that Stress Management was seen as the highest priority to focus on within the Healthy Workplace Award. A new course for managers on stress management is therefore being developed and will be introduced following a pilot in Learning Disability service The Working Well Initiative Steering Group is planning to re-survey SCC employees during the summer with a repeat of the survey conducted in July 2013 to see whether perceptions have changed and whether any differences in individuals approaches to personal health can be discerned. 3. Consultations undertaken 3.1. The Working Well Initiative Steering Group includes a representative of UNISON The union representatives on Joint Negotiating Forum receive periodic updates on sickness figures. 4. Implications 4.1. A reduction in sickness absence will improve productivity, service quality and reduce the costs in those areas where cover for absence needs to be provided to maintain safe levels of working. 5. Background papers 5.1. None B - 5