Almost £30,000 was spent on health roadshows featuring belly dancing and boxercise sessions to cut down on staff sickness days at a Black Country housing organisation.

Sandwell Homes organised the events for its workforce with taxpayers’ cash, as staff were taking off more than three weeks sick every year.

The last roadshow was at Oldbury’s Roway Lane Training Centre on May 19 and included demonstrations of exercise, including yoga, boxing to music and belly dancing.

The five-year programme cost £28,905, figures released under the Freedom of Information Act revealed today.

Bosses at Sandwell Homes said the average number of staff sick days had dropped from 18 in 2003/04 to eight this year. They also claimed the scheme had saved £5 million over the five years.

Paul Field, finance director and company secretary, said: “Absence is a company overhead. By addressing it, we reduced this by £1.6m in 2009/10 whilst cumulatively saving the company £5m since 2004.

“We will continue to work closely with Sandwell Primary Care Trust and charities to reduce absence levels and improve employee health, whilst striving to increase customer satisfaction levels as a result.”

Sandwell Homes, which has 1,350 staff and manages council homes for the local authority, worked with the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Diabetes UK and other charities during the roadshows. Sandwell Homes did not pay charities’ expenses at the event but expenses for other exhibitors totalled £152.40.

Mr Field added: “We have invested in employee awareness campaigns based around health and wellbeing, which have been tremendously successful in helping us to reduce absence levels by more than 50 per cent since 2004, as well as increasing customer satisfaction, and saving the company over £5m.

“Subsequently, our absence rates are among some of the lowest in the country compared to other public sector organisations.”