Council suffers £5.7M hit from staff sickness

Dale Spridgeon, local democracy reporter

The “increasing challenge” of staff sick leave is costing a Welsh council millions of pounds a year.

Shabby offices, unfair workloads and too much work pressure were among observations cited by some Cyngor Gwynedd staff as being among issues which were affecting their wellbeing.

The council said the cost of absences in 23/24 was calculated to be £5.7 million.

Plans to tackle employee health, safety and wellbeing were discussed during a meeting of Cyngor Gwynedd’s cabinet on Monday, December 17.

Wellbeing plan

It approved the Wellbeing Plan, which outlined the council’s priorities for its staff over the next few years.

The report noted that since lockdown, it was “universally recognised” that “the challenge” in terms of staff wellbeing, and the mental wellbeing of the general population, has “increased dramatically”.

It quoted figures from the ‘MIND’ organisation, which highlighted that “a third of the working age population believe their mental health has deteriorated significantly since March 2020”.

This had been “reflected” in the numbers of staff who have been making use of support available, and there had been a “significant increase” in counselling service, councillors heard.

“Council’s sick leave figures are an increasing challenge with the true cost in 23/24 calculated to be £5.7 million,” the meeting heard.

Priority

But a “healthy and satisfied workforce” was now one of the work streams in the Ffordd Gwynedd Plan, “a priority” in the Council’s plan for 2023-28.

The council had seen 14,404 (22.13%) work days lost due to sickness absence related to “stress, depression and mental health problems”.

Some 7,718 (11.86%) work days were lost due to absence related to “musculoskeletal problems”, while “other sickness” was recorded as the main reason in 22.79% of cases.

Long-term absences contributed to 51% of the council’s sickness absence days.

On average, every officer in the council has lost 10.29 work days a year, and 2.72% more sickness absence days were lost in 2023/24 compared to 2022/23.

Occupational health services

Some 665 staff members had been referred to the occupational health service, 194 to the counselling service (Medra) and 129 to the physiotherapy service.

Observations by staff over stress included “too much” or “increasing” work pressure, issues over division of work between teams, and a “need” to consider workload and capacity.

In the manager’s roles there was “a need” for more training for line managers on how to deal with staff, more support from line managers, and the need to maintain contact between employees and team managers.

The work environment was also mentioned, with comments including “everything is dated,” the need for a working environment “fit for purpose and nicer,” a space to eat lunch and a “suitable” desks and break area.

One noted: “The offices’ image is disastrous and shabby and it makes one feels joyless when walking in.”

It was also felt that “not everyone knew” about support services available.

The risks of not addressing staff wellbeing were also a “moral one” as well as financial.

There were also risks of compensation claims against the council, and legal risks of being unable to meet the minimum to protect workers.

It concluded that a healthy workforce was “at the heart of everything the council is committed to in terms of serving the public”.

‘Well-being’

It also noted “benefits” of incorporating ‘well-being’ into all aspects of the council’s culture, helping to attract new employees, retain current ones, lower sick leave rates and improve the performance and development of staff.

The report quoted the council’s chief finance officer, who said: “In addition to our ethical and legal duties, there are positive financial obligations in doing the best that we can to support well-being.

The report highlights the substantial financial costs of sickness absence, whilst we will never completely eliminate sickness absence, I fully support the efforts to do as much as possible to protect the well-being of the Council’s staff.”

Chief executive Dafydd Gibbard also “welcomed the plan” saying the 6,000 staff employed at the council were its “most valuable resource”.

He said the council was “completely dependent” on them to provide its variety of service.

He added: “Looking after our staff is crucial.

“If we don’t have a healthy and satisfied workforce they can’t provide services for people either.”