Sickness rates among county council staff in Hertfordshire are higher than at any time since 2011 – costing the authority an estimated £8.2m a year.
According to the latest available data, employees are taking an average of 8.1 days of sick leave a year – with stress, depression, anxiety and mental health ranking as the most common reason for absence.
And in some departments – such as adult care services – the average annual absence rate is as high as 12.1 days.
The data – which focuses on the year to November 2022 – was presented to a meeting of the council’s resources and performance cabinet panel last Wednesday (March 29).
Councillors were told that the cost of sickness absence in that 12-month period was £8.2m – equivalent to £122 for each day’s absence.
But that figure – based on sick pay and associated costs – does not include temporary staffing costs to cover an absence or costs associated with turnover or recruitment.
Covid-19, it was reported, accounted for 8,329 days of absence during the 12-month period – equivalent to one in every eight days taken.
And it was suggested that changes to sick pay entitlement – with staff now paid from their first day of absence – appeared to have had a “small impact” on levels of absence, particularly in relation to short-term ailments.
