HC Deb 09 March 1995 vol 256 cc337-8W
Mr. Chidgey

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what measures he is taking to combat sickness absenteeism in the Employment Service.

Miss Widdecombe

Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. David Chidgey, dated 9 March 1995: The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the measures being taken to combat sickness absenteeism in the Employment Service (ES). A sickness absence management initiative has been in place in the ES since 1991. This came about because of concerns about sickness levels in the organisation at that time and the need to manage it more effectively. The main elements of the initiative included:

  1. (a) the provision of a leaflet for people returning to work about sickness absence and a requirement for managers to talk to such staff, to check what the problem was, whether they were fully fit for work, and find out whether additional support and advice was needed; and
  2. (b) a requirement for individuals to phone in by an agreed time on the first day of their illness, to tell their manager they were ill, so that cover for their job could be arranged during their absence.
The rationale behind the initiative was to provide more effective help to those who really needed it, and to take a firmer line with those whose absences may have been questionable. Sickness absence has fallen from around 7% in 1991 to around 4% in 1994. More recently, the success of this initiative has been developed further with a number of changes being made to the ES Personnel Handbook. One of the changes to the inefficiency procedure was a reduction in the number of days sickness absence which an employee can take before consideration is given to inefficiency action. Previously, the limits were 14 or 21 days in a 12 month period, depending on age. Since 31 October 1994, the new trigger point has been 12 working days for everyone irrespective of age and also includes part day sickness absences. A full evaluation will be conducted in the autumn, when the arrangements have been in place for a full year. I hope this is helpful.