HUNDREDS of Bury Council workers have been signed off on long term sick leave since April 2015.

A Freedom of Information request submitted by the Bury Times revealed that 801 authority staff, excluding teachers and casual staff, had taken an absence of 20 days or longer since the beginning of the 2015/16 financial year.

The council employs 2,681 staff – although this can fluctuate due to staff turnover – meaning the long-term sickness rate is at 8 per cent over the three-and-a-quarter-years the figures relate to.

Of the 801 who have been signed off for 20 days or longer, some 692 returned to work following their absence, while 124 left the employ of the council.

A Bury Council spokesman said the authority did not believe the cuts to staffing and resources were driving levels of long-term sickness absence.

He said: “Our sickness rates are actually reducing steadily. We think this is largely due to our comprehensive range of health and wellbeing initiatives and occupational health support available to all staff.

“Like other councils across Greater Manchester, the main causes of sickness absence are stress and musculoskeletal. This is why our staff interventions focus predominantly on these two issues, for instance counselling and physiotherapy.”

He added: “Council staff are funded publicly, and council resources are increasingly scarce; it is therefore important that we take a robust approach to managing attendance. We will continue to strive to do more. However, the sickness levels at Bury Council are not at odds with industry standards.”

Steve Kenyon, Bury Council's interim executive director of resources and regulation, said the wellbeing of "hard-working staff" was important to the authority.

He said: "If colleagues are healthy, happy and fit for work, they provide a better service to the people of Bury.

"We have a duty of care to support staff. We have many different roles in the council, and many can be physical or mentally demanding in nature. We ensure that staff are adequately trained and equipped to carry out their roles safely.

"We encourage staff to fully recover from any episodes of sickness before returning to work and - more importantly - prevent them from becoming unwell in the first place, through a number of workforce wellbeing initiatives.

"We have a dedicated health and wellbeing lead, delivering a comprehensive plan for all our staff to 'live better, feel better'. This is supported by 'champions' across the council, who are trained by the Royal Society for Public Health and armed with resources to support staff, such as a wellbeing guide.

However, public sector trade union Unison, disagrees with the council’s assessment about the causes behind long term sick leave.

Steve Morton, UNISON Bury Branch Secretary said: “Dramatic cuts in council funding have translated into greater pressure on staff.

“Staff have been through years of reductions in staffing levels and face continuing uncertainty about their future.

“Council services are in increasing demand and are now run with even fewer staff. Workloads have increased and people are having to work flat out just to keep things going, working long hours and missing breaks.

“Sometimes staff keep coming in to work when they are not well because they know that if they go off it will heap yet more pressure on the staff that remain.

“We have worked with the council to improve the support that staff can access to help them stay in work or get back to work. It’s welcome that the council now provides fast-track counselling and physiotherapy services for staff.

“But what is needed most is sustained investment in council services so that staff and residents know that services will be well-resourced and have a long-term future.”

But Cllr James Daly, leader of Bury Council's Conservative group said more should be done to reduce the level of long-term sick absence.

He said: "These figures equate to £16,020 lost working days over the last three and a quarter years — this is surely can't be acceptable.

"Bury Council must urgently review how it deals with sick leave, the reasons for it and must put together a plan to ensure that these figures are much reduced over the next three years."