06 April 2007
Northern Ireland council workers take on average more than three days extra sickness absence per year than their equivalents in England and Wales, a report from the Northern Ireland Audit Office has revealed.
Absenteeism among local government workers in Northern Ireland fell slightly last year, from an average of 14.6 days per worker in 2004/05, to 13.7 days in 2005/06.
But this compares with 6.6 days per worker across the UK economy and 11.5 days (in 2004/05) in English and Welsh local government.
The cost of absenteeism to councils in Northern Ireland was £14m in 2005/06.
The lowest absenteeism rate was in Fermanagh District Council and the highest was 20.3 days in Larne. A spokeswoman for Larne District Council declined to comment, but said that a report on the problem would go to councillors later this month.
Councils with high and rising absenteeism rates have been advised by the NIAO to review their sickness management practices, with variations noted between councils in absenteeism management policies.
Only half of Northern Ireland's 26 councils have targets for absenteeism levels and just three of these achieved their targets. 'In each case,' observed the NIAO, 'it could be argued that the targets were not particularly challenging.'
PFapr2007
