Staff sickness absence at Bradford Council is steadily falling and is now at an annual average of ten days per employee, according to a new report.

The local authority’s record was one of the worst in the country two years ago when staff were succumbing to absence because of illness on an average of 12 days a year. Five years ago, that figure was 14.

At the end of the last financial year, two out of seven council departments fell short of their targets. Employees in environment and sport recorded an average of 12.71 days per employee against a target of ten days. Regeneration and culture staff had an average of 10.69 days off sick, short of a nine-day target.

Overall, the Council set its employees a target of missing ten days and the result was 10.32.

Matt Burghardt, the Council’s assistant director for human resources, said: “Reducing sickness absence still further remains a key priority for the Council, but it is pleasing to see the robust action we are taking is having a positive effect."

According to a report to the corporate overview and scrutiny committee which meets tomorrow, each department has an action plan to address the particular issues that they face.

The Council has a well-established structure for managing staff absence, which includes Kath Tunstall, the strategic director for children and young people, as corporate sponsor, a network of departmental attendance champions and regular staff attendance clinics.

The report warns that failure to further reduce the levels of staff sickness absence will have a significant impact on the Council’s ability to deliver against its objectives.

  • Read the full story in Tuesday's T&A