The Department has an Attendance Management policy in place since 2005. As part of the process of preparing this policy, the Department researched examples of best practice available in Irish and UK organisations. The inclusion in the Policy of practices such as return to work interviews, a Health Promotion Policy and supports for staff who are returning to work after a long term illness reflects this research.
The Department prepares reports for managers on a quarterly and annual basis of all sick leave absences that occur in the Department in order to support them in the management of attendance. These reports contain information in relation to numbers, duration, lost work days etc arising from work absences.
In addition, the Department uses the Administrative Productivity Training (APT) method of work measurement which is used to identify, measure and quantify workloads and to determine staffing requirements. This provides for a core figure of staffing for each business unit in the Department. The measurement includes a set 14.3% absence reserve. This absence reserve covers all normal levels of annual, sick and special leave. The following table sets out details of absences for the years 2003 to 2007.
Year
|
Average No. of Absences per Employee
|
Average No. of working days lost to Sick Leave per Employee
|
Average No. of working days lost to Sick Leave per Employee when absences in excess of 6 months are excluded
|
2003
|
2.36
|
13.58
|
10.73
|
2004
|
2.33
|
13.78
|
10.76
|
2005
|
2.35
|
14.79
|
11.77
|
2006
|
2.29
|
14.68
|
11.06
|
2007
|
2.30
|
14.74
|
11.35
|