Just been interviewed by BBC Radio Leeds on the recent news about Bradford City Council’s sickness absence problems - Average of 20 days per employee per year in one department, 17 days on average in another! What were the managers and HR department doing? I am sure they had some monitoring in place?

Good measures now in place, working with GP’s, physio appointments, mediation… Hang on… Mediation? Doesn’t that indicate that the managers and employees can’t talk together without the help of a neutral mediator? Have the relationships broken down that far??

Also what are they putting in place for the sporadic sickies - the cause of the most disruption, return to work interviews? disciplinary measures?

There are obviously some underlying issues in the very high absence rate departments, on first look, I would ask - why don’t people want to work there? Also is taking sick seen as additional holiday? I am sure some see it that way, Councils are known for their generous sick pay schemes and strong union presence