At the Fife Council Cabinet Committee, a paper was brought on absence management after figures show that it has the second worst levels of all local authorities in Scotland. Fife Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Councillor James Calder raised concerns in the discussion.

Councillor Calder said,

The figures have shown significant increase in staff absences in Fife since before the pandemic. Coupled with the fact we are in one of the worst positions in Scotland, this is deeply disappointing.

Staff absence impacts council services and we need to ensure that staff wellbeing is in a better place. With there being stubbornly difficult recruitment problems and staff facing major challenges such as violence, it is even more difficult to resolve.

I made the point we need to try and prioritise recruitment and retention, as this is putting more on the shoulders of remaining staff.

There seems to be recognition of this and I hope the Council’s proposals including more HR support and investment will help to tackle this issue.