A SHOCK report has revealed that the number of staff going sick at Great Yarmouth Borough Council has increased significantly, with predictions that each full- time employee could be absent nearly 14 days a year.
A SHOCK report has revealed that the number of staff going sick at Great Yarmouth Borough Council has increased significantly, with predictions that each full- time employee could be absent nearly 14 days a year.
The council says sickness levels in the first six months of this financial year have reached 4,152 full-time days - a rise of half a day per employee during the same period for 2006.
The figures mean each full- time equivalent worker could be off sick for 13.20 days a year - an increase of .6 of
a day.
It is predicted that by the end of the financial year sickness absence could cost the authority £531,960 and will mean the equivalent of losing 26 full-time posts over the 12-month period.
Councillors on the scrutiny committee will debate on Tuesday how to tackle the sickness problem by recommending a whole raft of new policies and improving current management techniques
The committee will be told that stress is a significant factor in sickness and that the authority should carry out a stress audit of all of its staff.
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