Staff may be fired as sickness rate soars

Staffordshire and West Midlands Probation Trust has launched an action plan to tackle the problem and say workers may even be fired if they persistently call in sick. A report to the trust board says staff take on average 11.1 days off – higher than the national average of 10. It is also up from last year's figure of 9.8 days at the same point in the year.

Measures including vaccinations and support helping staff back into the workplace have been introduced.

Trust director of operations Ged Bates, said they had a policy which all managers had to work by.

"Staff sickness levels have risen and we are determined to reduce sickness absence to the minimum possible.

"Our policy emphasises positive health measures - for example, just this week staff have been receiving flu jabs. It also includes supportive action to help staff who are on sick leave to return to work quickly and effectively," he said.

"However, whilst our Trust is determined to ensure that all staff taking sick leave are treated fairly and given the maximum support, there are some situations when staff who are persistently absent have their contracts of employment terminated."

He said that the step would only be taken after all other options had been exhausted, and would be done according to the law.

A sickness strategy group has been formed and the trust board has warned that it wants to see an improvement in sickness rates over the coming months.

In the report to the board, it was suggested that the recession and the length of time officers stayed in the same post were possible factors leading to the increased absence levels.