Agenda item

This report responds to the specific issues identified in the Attendance Management (follow-up) memo dated 18^th January 2016.  It also outlines the wider actions and plans in place to manage sickness absence in the council, including the implementation of iTrent absence management, which is a recommendation of the audit and will improve the recording of sickness absence across the council.

Members considered a report which responded to specific issues identified in the Attendance Management (follow-up) memo dated 18 January 2016.  The report also outlined the wider actions and plans in place to manage sickness absence in the council, including the implementation of iTrent absence management, which was a recommendation of the audit and which would improve the recording of sickness absence across the council.

At the request of Members, officers explained the reasons why sickness absence had not been recorded on the iTrent system at an earlier stage.  They stated that it had not been possible to do so in light of other priority issues including ensuring that the payroll and pension modules of the system were functioning effectively.

At the request of Members, officers gave details of the percentage of the absences that were stress related and they confirmed that actions were in place to try to address this situation. Details were given of the strategies that had been put in place to support staff wellbeing.  The council was also seeking accreditation under the Workforce Wellbeing Charter.

Members requested that the following additional information be circulated to them¹:

·        Benchmarking information from other Local Authorities

·        The Report of the Sickness Absence Scrutiny Review of May 2013

·        Breakdown of the sickness absence figures for 2015/16 by directorate and identifying whether or not the figures included sickness absence in schools

·        Information on the Workforce Wellbeing Charter

[Following the meeting this information was also added to the online agenda papers for the meeting]

Members agreed that they would wish a further update report to be presented to the committee to enable the progress in implementing the absence management module of the iTrent system to be monitored.

Resolved:  (i)      That the report be noted.

(ii)      That an update report on Sickness Absence Management be presented to the committee at their meeting on 7 December 2016.

Reason:     To ensure that Members are aware of the key issues and the response to recommendations to secure improvements in control arrangements around sickness absence.