Sandwell Council workers take 189 YEARS off sick in 12 months

Staff took eight days off each on average during 2014/15 as more than 69,000 days were lost due to sickness.

As a result, 18 workers were sacked by Sandwell Council for taking too much time off sick.

Bosses said the authority does everything it can to support sick employees but that those workers were let go as part of its 'robust' policy.

The total number of sick days at the council rose by more than 1,000 during 2014/15 to 69,038, compared to 67,931 in 2013/14.

Council leader Darren Cooper accepted the total 'appeared high' but insisted it was in line with the national average.

The figures relate to more than 8,000 workers, including school staff.

Councillor Cooper said: "The average number of sickness days in 2014/15 was eight, which is better than the national public sector average of 8.7 days and on par with the local government average.

"While on the face of it these appear significant figures, to put them into context they include sickness absence of all staff including sickness absence of all staff including the 61 local authority employer schools in the borough.

"As a good employer we provide support for staff when they need it and manage employee sickness. However, in a relatively small number of cases as a last resort we have had to dismiss 18 employees over the past two years under our robust sickness absence management procedures."

The Taxpayers' Alliance said the number of days being lost was hitting families in the pocket.

Chief executive Jonathan Isaby said: "This is a lot of staff time lost and public services are affected as a result.

"Across the public sector sickness rates are higher than in the private sector and given the current pressures on council budgets, it is crucial that that gap is reduced where possible, as every day lost costs taxpayers dear."

Earlier this year, it was revealed that Dudley Council had sacked 16 members of staff for taking too much time off.

A total of 90,677.43 days were lost by workers taking sick days at the authority in 2014/15 – the equivalent of 248 years.