Various measures introduced to reduce sick days taken by staff
Well-being sessions are being offered to Coventry City Council staff in a bid to reduce absence rates which are the highest among the West Midlands authorities. Occupational health services and extra training for managers have also been implemented.
Councillors were told the measures were brought in during a series of ‘deep dive’ sessions into areas where the council’s One Coventry Plan was under-performing. As well as absenteeism, another area of concern investigated included the rise in the number of first time youth offenders across the city.
Five separate sessions were held to look at issues and their findings will be discussed at this week’s (Thursday) meeting of the city council’s scrutiny co-ordination committee. The leader of the council, Cllr George Duggins, and Tory group leader Cllr Gary Ridley are both expected to be there.
A report drawn up for that meeting explains: “Staff absence rates in Coventry have remained around 13 days per year, which is consistent with the public sector average but higher than the national average. The council is the highest among metropolitan authorities in the region, but long-term absence rates are not unusually high compared to peers.
“To combat this, a range of interventions have been implemented, including occupational health services, well-being sessions, training for managers, and targeted deep dives into high-absence areas. There is ongoing investment in performance management and cultural change to address absence.”
The report adds that councillors had requested more details about possible links between sick days and working from home. It explains that there was a call for a “more in-depth analysis of absence trends, especially with regard to possible correlations between flexible working arrangements and absence” but adds that under the current model of categorising staff by work patterns, this would be tricky.
Councillors also noted a rise in first-time entrants to the youth justice system in 2024/25 with the increase being linked to enhanced police investigations, stricter handling of knife and weapon offences, and fewer deferred prosecutions due to policy changes. At one of the sessions, the influence of social media on youth crime was brought up.
To have a better understanding of how and why the rise has occurred, the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner will be invited to a future meeting of the scrutiny co-ordination committee. Councillors also asked that re-offending figures should be included in future reports to provide a fuller picture of the youth justice system
https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/council-staff-offered-well-being-32763365 
