Stress and mental health problems continue to drive up staff absence at Warwickshire County Council

The authority’s end-of-year performance data showed that more than a third of staff days lost in the financial year 2023-24 – around 35 per cent – were put down to stress or mental health, reasons that had only accounted for 28 per cent of lost days in the previous year.

It is the cause given for 40 per cent of the absent days in the children and young people and social care and health directorates – the departments that are faced with heightening demand pressures.

The overall performance metric shows that absence rates are creeping up. The average number of sick days for a full-time equivalent council employee is now 9.86 per year, above a target of eight which has a tolerance of one either way.

That figure was 9.16 in September 2023 and 8.99 a year ago.

The council's strategic director for resources Rob Powell stated this time last year that the balance between staff wellbeing and the need to save money was “one of the top issues” facing the authority.

In September, Mr Powell specifically referenced “immense pressures” on “frontline services and the support services” amid demand levels that had become “extremely high”.

The matter was not discussed in detail at last week’s meeting of cabinet – the panel of Conservative councillors in charge of major service areas – but leader Councillor Izzi Seccombe OBE noted it and acknowledged “we need to keep an eye on that”.

The overarching performance report said: "Several service areas across the organisation have a significant impact on the overall absence figure, and resources and actions are being targeted to provide support to them.”

It also stated the increase “appears to be in line with national trends”.

The more detailed appendix featured the 15,001-day total and the 35 per cent stress and mental health proportion.

“Further investigation into the contributing factors for this is ongoing. Wellbeing is actively being monitored using the check-in surveys,” it added before referring to an increased rate of long-term absence in the overall statistics.

Cited 1,106 times, chest or respiratory illness was the most frequently occurring reason for absence and highlighted “as a significant cause of days lost”.