DlNBVRGH + + THE CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL Sickness Absence Monitoring Report Executive of the Council 8fh My 4 I.I...3 Purpose of report This report quntifies the mount of working time lost s result of sickness bsence in the Council, nd compres the levels of sickness bsence with other public sector orgnistions. An nlysis of the mount of time lost to short nd long term bsence t deprtmentl level is lso provided. Min report The Accounts Commission Performnce Indictors /3 report pointed out tht there hd been no improvement in sickness bsence levels cross the Council s whole over the pst four yers. When these sttistics were reported in October 3, the Executive requested more detiled report into sickness bsence. A recent publiction by the Chrtered Institute of Personnel nd Development reported tht the verge sickness bsence level cross the pubic sector in the United Kingdom is 4.6%, nd tht the level in locl government (including police nd fire) is 5.%. The Council reported sickness levels of 5.4% over ll groups of stff in 3, which is identicl to the verge of ll Scottish councils. The Accounts Commission requires councils to report sickness bsence for three employee groups: dministrtive, professionl, technicl & clericl employees nd chief officers (APTC & CO); crft & mnul employees; nd techers. All Stff.4 The Council's sickness bsence level over ll stff groups hs risen from 5.% in 999/ to 5.4% in /3, while the verge cross Scotlnd hs remined sttic t 5.4%. The best performing council in /3 reported sickness bsence level of 3.9%. Tble A of Appendix shows this dt in tble nd s grph. I
APTC & CO Stff.5 Sickness bsence mongst the Council s APTC & CO stff hs risen every yer for the pst four yers nd is 5.4%. This slightly exceeds the Scottish verge of 5.3%. Scotlnd s top performing council reported figure of 3.% in the lst yer for which dt re vilble. Tble B in Appendix shows this informtion in greter detil. Crft & Mnul Stff.6 Sickness mong crft & mnul employees hs risen over the lst three yers nd is the re where the Council compres lest fvourbly with other Scottish Councils. The Council reported sickness bsence of level of 7.4%, compred to Scottish verge of 6.4%, nd top council vlue of 5. %. Tble C in Appendix I shows the vlues reported over the four yers for which dt re vilble. Teching Stff.7 Sickness levels mong teching stff show continuous reduction over the pst four yers nd levels hve remined well below the ntionl verge throughout tht period. At.6%, the Council recorded the best vlue of ny Scottish council in the 3 reporting yer, well below tht Scottish verge of 3.9%. More detiled informtion is vilble in Appendix, Tble D. Deprtmentl nlysis.8 Appendix shows the levels of dys lost to sickness for ll deprtments. The dt ssumes tht the reporting procedures hve been followed for ll cses of sickness bsence. If this ssumption is incorrect, the dt presented could understte the ctul level of bsence..9 The dt re seprted into the different clssifictions of employee. Where possible, the episodes of sickness bsence re seprted into long nd short term bsence. This is the first time dt hve been reported in this wy, nd it is not yet possible to provide detiled informtion on sickness for ll services.. The dt show the totl levels of sickness vrying from.43% mong non teching stff in Eduction, to 4.4% nd 5.% mong crft nd mnul employees in Socil Work nd Corporte Services respectively. The lowest levels of sickness mong crft nd mnul employees is in City Development (3. I%), nd the highest level mong APTC & CO stff is in Finnce (5.87%). Where dt re vilble for long nd short term bsence, they lmost invribly show tht more time is lost through short term sickness, tht is episodes of illness lsting less thn 4 dys. 3 Recommendtions 3. The level of sickness bsence recorded mong ll groups of stff is in line with other Scottish councils. Within different groups of stff, sickness is lower thn
other councils for techers, nd higher for crft nd mnul employees. Over four yer period, fewer dys hve been lost to sickness mong techers. However, over the sme period more dys hve been lost to sickness mong both crft nd mnul nd APTC & CO stff. The Council is still developing effective systems for identifying the nture of episodes of sickness. It would pper from the dt vilble tht more dys re lost due to short term sickness, tht is episodes tht lst less thn 4 dys. 4 Recommendtions 4. It is recommended tht the Executive notes: ) the contents of this report; b) tht the Council hs n objective of reducing sickness levels by ten percent by Mrch 5; nd k/+ c) tht monitoring this objective is prt of the Council s six monthly fl mngement informtion reporting process. Jim Inc Director Corporte Services Appendices Appendix : Percentge of working dys lost to sickness bsence Appendix : Sickness Absence: April to September 3 Contct/tel/Emil Steven Di Ponio 469 3839 steven.di ponio@edin bu rqh.qov.u k Wrds ffected Bckground Ppers N/A Comprtive Anlysis of Council Performnce, 3 Jnury 4 Employee Absence 3, CIPD, 3 Performnce Indictors 3: Corporte Mngement, Audit Scotlnd, 4 3
Percentge of working dys lost to sickness bsence Tble A: Sickness in ll stff groups Appendix All Stff Groups 5 4 %3 999/ / / 3 Yer Scotlnd Tble B: Sickness in dministrtive, professionl, technicl, clericl stff nd chief officers APTC & CO Edinburgh El Best Council 999 / / Yer 3
Tble C: Sickness in crft nd mnul stff Crft & Mnul 7 6 5 %4 3 I999 /3 Yer H Edinburgh c3 Scotlnd g Best Council Tble D: Sickness in teching stff i 5 4 3 % Tech e rs II Scotlnd Best Council I I999 / I / 3 Yer I
Appendix Sickness Absence: April to September 3 Notes All figures shown re percentges of working dys lost to sickness. April to September 3 is the ltest period for which dt re vilble. This is the first time tht it hs been possible to identify long nd short term sickness. Further work is still required to mke this reporting opertionl over ll services. Long term sickness is defined s episodes of sickness lsting 4 dys or more. Nl - no dt is vilble. Reltes to totl of three dy s bsence.
Briefing Note: Sickness Absence Monitoring Report The key points re: The report ws requested by the Executive, following dt on sickness bsence being mde vilble s prt of the sttutory performnce indictor reporting; more dys re lost to sickness in councils thn in lmost ny other re of employment ; sickness levels in the Council re comprble with other Scottish councils when ll groups of stff re considered; sickness levels re lower for techers in Edinburgh thn in other councils, but higher rtes re reported for crft nd mnul workers; no improvements re evident in the number of dys lost to sickness over the four yer period for which dt hve been reported; the Council hs mde commitment to reduce the number of dys lost to sickness by % in the 45 reporting yer; most of the dys lost to sickness result from episodes of bsence tht lst for fewer thn forty dys; the six monthly Mngement Informtion Report (MIR) will be extended to monitor long nd short bsence for ll groups of stff. Sickness bsence is one the 5 key sttutory performnce indictors in which the Council ims to excel; no brekdown by long nd short term sickness is vilble for Socil Work, s the sickness informtion for stff is not yet recorded on the corporte system. it is possible tht the figures reported understte the ctul of level of sickness. This is becuse sickness reporting procedures my not lwys be followed upon returning to work fter short bsence. With regrd to the high sickness rtes for Corporte Services, crft nd mnul workers, these relte to stff employed in the Corporte Trnsport Unit nd Fleet Services. I understnd tht reltively smll number of stff on long term sick re distorting the figures. The process of compiling this report hs been prticulrly time consuming nd if this informtion nd level of nlysis is to repeted on more regulr nd frequent bsis significnt improvements in the provision of relible nd timeous dt will be necessry.
Agend item: Report title: Sickness Absence Monitoring Report In ccordnce with the Council s Stnding Orders, the contents of this report hve been noted by the pproprite Executive Member. Without prejudice to the integrity of the report, nd the recommendtions contined within it, the Executive Member expresses hidher own views s follows: For informtion - Stnding Order 57() sttes: Heds of Deprtment will prepre reports, with professionl dvice nd recommendtions, on mtters requiring decisions by the Executive: 9 report seeking decisions on mtters of corporte strtegy, corporte policy nd corporte projects will be submitted direct to the Executive 9 report seeking decisions on mtters relting to the specil responsibilities llocted to n individul member of the Executive will be submitted, in the first instnce, to tht member. The member will dd his or her own recommendtion to it before submission to the Executive. Where the Executive member disgrees with the dvice nd the recommendtion of the officers, the Executive member will lso stte his or her resons.