Department for Regional Development: Management of Industrial Sickness Absence

Sickness absence among industrial staff in the Department for Regional Development's Roads and Water Services cost over £2 million in lost working days during 2001-02. In a report published today, the Comptroller and Auditor General, John Dowdall, says that 40,000 working days were lost due to sickness absence in that year. This is equivalent to 20 days a year for each manual worker; one of the highest absence rates in the UK. Some parts of these two Agencies perform better than others, however, and the report estimates that if all Divisions had reduced absence to the level of the best Division, this would have saved around £800,000.

Both Agencies had limited information on patterns and causes of absence, but Water Service data indicates that over 40 per cent of staff took no days off at all in 2001-2002. The main reasons for absence were accidents and injuries, closely followed by musculoskeletal problems ("bad backs"). Eighty per cent of working days lost were covered by a doctor's certificate and there are indications that longer term absence is a significant problem in both Agencies.

Both Agencies have good policies and procedures for the management of absence but these are not always followed in practice. The auditors found:

• instances where management had given multiple informal warnings delaying the progress of inefficiency procedures;
• return to work interviews (which are widely recognised as the most effective measure to reduce absence) were not always carried out and few managers had been trained in how to conduct them;
• delays in referrals to Occupational Health Service, resulted in delays in dealing with cases of long term absence; and
• some staff had been made permanent in post despite high levels of sickness absence during their probation period.

The report makes detailed recommendations to address these problems and recommends that both Agencies set targets to encourage managers to reduce sickness absence. It suggests that a reduction of 30 per cent over five years is realistic but that a greater reduction may be achievable in the longer term.

The report acknowledges that much has been done to establish appropriate policies and procedures but high levels of absenteeism continue to cost significant amounts of Agencies' resources. The need is not so much for more rules as for better application of existing procedures. The report states that the full implementation of sickness absence policy, supported by a training programme for managers will reduce sickness absence and will strengthen the ability of both Agencies to deliver better quality services.

Notes for editors

1. The Department for Regional Development employs some 2,000 manual or industrial staff across Northern Ireland within its two Executive Agencies: Roads Service and Water Service.