Sickness Absence and Management Information Workshop

1. Appendix 6 Sickness Absence and Management Information Workshop Customer & Support Services 19th July 2006 Provided by Systems and Information Team

2. Before we begin • Register • Fire Exits • Refreshments • Mobile Phones

3. Session Objectives: At the end of this session you: • Will know what Management Information is available to you from the Systems and Information Team. • Will have identified what problems you are facing and how they may be addressed. • Be made aware of good practices from other Directorates • Be made aware of the services available from the Occupational Health Unit. • Be made aware of the online sickness absence recording form.

4. Management Information • What do we currently provide? • High level absence figures based on headcount. This set of quarterly statistics show the short term/ long term/ total sickness figures within each directorate, and an overall council figure. • The summary sheets give a high level view of activity within the directorate, and further sets of charts are provided which show the absence by reason.

5. Management Information • What do we currently provide? • BVPI Quarterly Performance Evaluation (QPE) report– a breakdown of the corporate health BVPI’s. These figures are distributed to each director and used for discussion at their relevant QPE meeting. • More detailed information is offered in terms of breaking down the data and analysing where hotspots exist, and where problems of a particular nature may be occurring.

6. Management Information

7. Management Information What’s the difference between Headcount and the BVPI figures?

8. Management Information • Why do we provide this information? A key element of managing absence effectively is accurate measurement and monitoring. We must assess if we have a problem with absence, its extent and the best way to tackle it. The reports we produce are not meant to take the place of effective line management; they complement this by providing information to aid decision-making.

9. Quick Quiz

10. Quiz • For your Directorate which is higher, long term absence or short term absence? • What are the top 5 reasons for absence long term? • What are the top 5 reasons for absence short term? • Which area within your Directorate has the highest level of absence? • If the Directorates were listed, lowest absence first, where would you be?

11. Answers • For your Directorate which is higher, long term absence or short term absence? Short term absence – this represented 6,885 days lost compared to 3,882 days lost for long term absence. • What are the top 3 reasons for absence long term? 1. Stress 2. Pending Reason 3. Other Muscular

12. Answers • What are the top 3 reasons for absence Short Term? 1. Infections 2. Stress 3. Stomach/Liver/Kidney • Which area within your Directorate has the lowest level of absence? Human Resources

13. Answers • If the Directorates were listed, lowest absence first, where would you be?

14. Directorate Breakdown

15. Directorate Breakdown • Against Headcount the Directorate is : • 0.4 days worse against last rolling quarter. • This is due to an increase in long term absence of 0.4 days • Operating at an average 11.4 days absence per person overall.

16. Directorate Breakdown

17. Directorate Breakdown Top 5 Reasons For Absence within the Directorate: Reason Contribution to days lost 1. Stress 23.8% 2. Infections 16.2% 3. Stomach 9.6% 4. Pending Reason 9.5% 5. Other Muscular 9.2%

18. Directorate Breakdown Top 3 Reasons For Absence within the Directorate: Long Term Reason Contribution to days lost (LT) 1. Stress 35.5% 2. Pending 16.2% 3. Other Muscular 11.5% Short Term Reason Contribution to days lost (ST) 1. Infections 25.3% 2. Stress 17.1% 3. Stomach 12.0%

19. Directorate Breakdown Stress This Directorate has lost more days to stress than any other Directorate. Since March05 the number of days lost to stress in this directorate has gone up 58% from 1619 days to 2558 days. Compared to a staffing increase of 0.5% over the same period of time.

20. Directorate Breakdown LAW & ADMIN - Account for 19% of staff in the Directorate Top 3 Reasons for Absence

21. Directorate Breakdown LAW & ADMIN - Account for 19% of staff in the Directorate Top Reason For Absence within the Area: Long Term Reason Contribution to days lost (LT) 1. Other Muscular 27.1% This equates to 4.61% of the Directorates Long Term Absence and 1.66% of the Directorates absence overall. Short Term Reason Contribution to days lost (ST) 1. Infections 28.3% This equates to 4.76% of the Directorates Short Term Absence and 3.05% of the Directorates absence overall.

22. Directorate Breakdown FINANCE - Account for 25% of staff in the Directorate Top 3 Reasons for Absence

23. Directorate Breakdown FINANCE - Account for 25% of staff in the Directorate Top Reason For Absence within the Area: Long Term Reason Contribution to days lost (LT) 1. Stress 51.2% This equates to 10.82% of the Directorates Long Term Absence and 3.9% of the Directorates absence overall. Short Term Reason Contribution to days lost (ST) 1. Infections 22.2% This equates to 4.42% of the Directorates Short Term Absence and 2.82% of the Directorates absence overall.

24. Directorate Breakdown IT - Account for 13% of staff in the Directorate Top 3 Reasons for Absence

25. Directorate Breakdown IT - Account for 13% of staff in the Directorate Top Reason For Absence within the Area: Long Term Reason Contribution to days lost (LT) 1. Stress 72.3% This equates to 5.59% of the Directorates Long Term Absence and 2.02% of the Directorates absence overall. Short Term Reason Contribution to days lost (ST) 1. Infections 42.2% This equates to 4.26% of the Directorates Short Term Absence and 2.72% of the Directorates absence overall.

26. Directorate Breakdown Customer Services - Account for 31% of staff in the Directorate Top 3 Reasons for Absence

27. Directorate Breakdown Customer Services - Account for 31% of staff in the Directorate Top Reason For Absence within the Area: Long Term Reason Contribution to days lost (LT) 1. Stress 29.3% This equates to 15.35% of the Directorates Long Term Absence and 5.54% of the Directorates absence overall. Short Term Reason Contribution to days lost (ST) 1. Stress 22.4% This equates to 9.86% of the Directorates Short Term Absence and 6.31% of the Directorates absence overall.

28. Directorate Breakdown Human Resources - Account for 12% of staff in the Directorate Top 3 Reasons for Absence

29. Directorate Breakdown Human Resources - Account for 12% of staff in the Directorate Top Reason For Absence within the Area: Long Term Reason Contribution to days lost (LT) 1. n/a for data protection reasons Short Term Reason Contribution to days lost (ST) 1. Infections 27.1% This equates to 2.45% of the Directorates Short Term Absence and 1.57% of the Directorates absence overall.

30. Directorate Breakdown

31. Directorate Breakdown

32. Directorate Breakdown

33. WHAT PROBLEMS DO YOU FACE? 2. HOW CAN YOU TACKLE THEM?

34. Problems You Face Problem - Stress • Stress is the highest identified reason for absence in the Directorate, it appears in the top 3 reasons for both long and short term absence. Suggestions • Best practice to speak to the person as soon as they are absent with stress as you may be able to assist, both if its related to work and if it is personal. • Send the individual a stress pack. • BDMA Counselling Service. • Take preventative action – Job Analysis, Workload…etc.

35. Problems You Face Problem – Short Term Absences • There were 1819 instances of short term absence, (under 4 weeks) compared to 51 instances of long term absence. Suggestions • Check that return to work interviews are taking place • Is the Attendance Management Policy being applied? • Are you utilising the Manager’s Guidelines? • Refer staff to Occupational Health.

36. Problems You Face Problem - Pending Reason • 4th highest reason for absence for the Directorate – 9.5%, with 2nd highest reason for long term – 16.2% • This means that we do not know what causes a substantial amount of the absence in the Directorate and therefore you do not know where to focus your efforts. Suggestions • Investigate how absence is recorded and by whom to identify why actual reasons are not being entered onto SAP.

37. Problems You Face Problem – Infections • Customer Services account for 31% of staff in the Directorate but account for 37.09% of infections within the Directorate. Suggestions • Further information on who these people are by job or location to establish if the nature of their role or where they work may be a reason for the increased infections. • If an individual is having persistent problems with infection refer them to Occupational Health.

38. Problems You Face Problem – Muscular-skeletal • Law & Admin account for 19% of staff, but 28.2% of muscular-skeletal absence Suggestions • Further information on who these people are by job or location to establish if the nature of their role or where they work may be a reason. • If an individual is having persistent muscular-skeletal problems, refer them to Occupational Health.

39. Good Practice In areas where we have seen an increase in attendance, the main reason appears to be management intervention, and a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities. Consider the following: • Are your managers doing return to work interviews for every member of staff after every period of absence? • Are your managers aware of the revised trigger points and amendments to the Attendance Management Policy? • Are immediate referrals being made to OHU for cases of stress, anxiety, depression, back pain or musculo-skeletal pain?

40. Good Practice • Are your HR teams being consulted for advice with absence cases? • Are managers consistently applying the AMP with regards to stages? • Are managers aware of their absence hotspots? • Do you know the main reasons for absences in your areas? • Where you have answered yes, how do you know you are doing all of these things?

41. Occupational Health Unit Services Preventative Measures: • The OHU has been more responsive, it has a collective contract with AGMA to improve OHP resources and therefore employees are being seen quicker. • Action has taken place to prioritise absentees, for example stress cases are being seen quicker using interventions such as Consultant Clinical Psychologists and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). • There has also been an extension to clinics for staff stress counselling (1 day per week extra), 900 sessions per year all of which are full.

42. Occupational Health Unit Services Preventative Measures: • Information Document Management and electronic appointments have speeded up the consultation process with Managers, improved access to the service and they also help to provide instant reports. • A new option of case conferences has been introduced for problematic cases.

43. Online Sickness Absence Recording • The sickness absence information at Salford City Council is held on a software system called SAP. • For obvious reasons it is important that the information held on this system is accurate and imputed in a timely manner. • After careful consideration it was agreed that the way forward would be to transform the recording of sickness absence through technology by facilitating the entry of sickness absence information directly onto the SAP system at source. • All absence will be recorded for onto SAP using this online absence recording system before the end of 2006.

44. Online Sickness Absence Recording

45. Online Sickness Absence Recording

46. Online Sickness Absence Recording

47. Online Sickness Absence Recording Other Useful Information • Absence Calculation Absence is based on a calculation of 5 working days for all staff. Once work schedules have been entered into the system this will be altered to reflect actual working days. • Medical Certificates These must no longer be sent to Payroll. Instead they must be retained by the Directorate. Original Medical Certificates must be kept for a period of minimum of 3 years from the end of the tax year that they relate to for Statutory Sickness Payment (SSP) purposes.

48. What next? Consider: • What your absence target will be for next year (should be in your balance score card). • What action you need to take to help improve attendance levels in your area and within the Directorate. • How you are going to prepare for using the Online Absence Recording Form.

49. What next? Consider: • Is there any information that you would like to be provided that you feel would assist you in managing attendance? If so: - What information that you are not receiving would you like to receive? (Include details of periods the report should cover and when these reports would be received). - How would this benefit your management of attendance?

50. The end • Contact Details Requests for reports should be sent to the HRSI mailbox at hrsi@salford.gov.uk. This is maintained by: Kathy Evans, Principal HR Advisor x 3304 Sarah Taylor, Senior HR Advisor x 3169 Rob Bulman, Management Information Officer x 3159