Social workers top public sector sick leave table

Published by Jon Land for 24dash.com in Local Government

Social workers take more sick leave than any other public service professional, averaging nearly 12 days a year, a survey disclosed today.

One in ten social workers in England took more than 20 days off in the last year, according to research by the Liberal Democrats.

The figures are far higher than the national average of 7.4 days sick a year, and more than the absence rate for NHS workers (11 days) and the police (10.2).

Liberal Democrat children and families spokeswoman Annette Brooke said the "shocking" statistics demonstrated the huge pressures on social workers.

The highest sickness rate in the survey - based on responses from more than two thirds of councils in England - was recorded in Hounslow in west London, where social workers took an average of 28.3 days off.

High rates were also found in Somerset (27.8 days), Coventry (19.2), Wolverhampton (18.9), North Tyneside (17.8) Cornwall (17.7), Sefton in Merseyside (17.5) and Cumbria (17.3).

Ms Brooke said: "These shocking figures show the impact of the huge stresses that social workers are under.

"The incredibly high number of vacancies leaves them spread too thin, working under huge pressure and dealing with a lack of resources and mountains of paperwork."

The research also found there were more than 2,700 social worker vacancies in England.

Ms Brooke warned that social workers had been "demonised" after the Baby P tragedy and said this had "undoubtedly" put many people off joining the profession.

The little boy - who can now be named as Peter Connelly - died in Tottenham, north London, in August 2007 at the hands of his mother, her boyfriend and their lodger while on the child protection register.

He had suffered 50 injuries despite receiving 60 visits from social workers, doctors and police over the final eight months of his life.