103 council staff off for six months

More than 100 workers at a Black Country council have been off sick for over six months, an Express & Star probe can reveal today.

Figures obtained through Freedom of Information legislation showed that as of May 4, 103 Sandwell Council employees have been off for more than six months.

Of the authority's 10,000 workers, 178 have been off for between one and three months and 63 have been off for up to a month.

Workers took an average of two weeks off sick in just 12 months at the council. A total of 10 staff members have been dismissed for poor attendance this year.

Latest figures reveal 109,648 days were lost to illness in 2009/2010, which equates to just under 11 days sick leave per employee.

The authority was unable to reveal how much the absences had cost but Ray Nock, leader of the opposition Conservative group, estimated it was millions every year.

Today Councillor Mahboob Hussain, Sandwell Council's cabinet member for improvement and efficiency, described the figures as "pleasing" because they had been higher in the past.