Issue - meetings

Report of the Service Director HR and OD detailing the HR Absence Data for Quarter 3 2019/20, attached.

The Committee considered the report of the Service Director HR and OD detailing Quarter 3 2019/20 HR statistics.  In particular it was noted that overall sickness levels for the Council showed an average 11.29 days per employee with the sector average being 8.5 days, key issues for absence being muscular skeletal for front line staff and mental wellbeing for other staff albeit that may not be work related.  A number of wellbeing initiatives had been introduced together with improved reporting and service areas business plans/absence monitoring being scrutinised by the S151 Officer and Deputy Chief Executive.

The Committee noted that organisational structures were changing and there was a need for valid comparison of overall figures going forward together with a better understanding of movement and trends.  The Committee requested that trend graphs now be incorporated into the quarterly report.

Given the time constraints of the meeting and a number of further questions that Councillor Professor Margetts had it was agreed that these would be tabled and responded too outside of the meeting copying in all Members of the Committee.

RESOLVED: 

(i)  That Quarter 3 2019/20 statistics be noted;

(ii)  That Children and Families be requested to attend the April meeting to discuss absence levels; and

(iii)  That trend graphs and valid comparisons be incorporated in future quarterly reports.