Sick record 'appalling'

Sick leave cost the roads and water services £2m

Roads and Water Service workers missed 40,000 working days last year, a report has revealed.

The Northern Ireland Audit Office report, published on Tuesday, said sick leave in the two agencies cost £2m.

The main reasons for absence were accidents and injuries, closely followed by back problems.

A total of 80% of working days lost were covered by a doctor's certificate, but there were indications that longer term absence was a significant problem in both agencies.

The report found both agencies had good policies and procedures for the management of absence, but these were not always followed in practice.

The auditors found:

Instances where management had given multiple informal warnings, delaying the progress of inefficiency procedures.

Return to work interviews, which are recognised as the most effective measure to reduce absence, were not always carried out and few managers were trained in how to conduct them.

Delays in the referral of cases to the Occupational Health Service resulted in delays in dealing with long-term absence.

The report recommended both agencies set targets to encourage managers to reduce sickness absence.

It suggested a reduction of 30% over five years was realistic, but that a greater reduction may be achievable in the long term.

Billy Bell, the chairman of the suspended Northern Ireland Assembly's Public Accounts Committee, described the report's findings as "dreadful".

"This rate of illness that cost over £2m per annum is quite appalling," he said.