Over a quarter of all sick days reported at Fermanagh and Omagh District Council are due to stress, depression and mental illness, new data has revealed.

27.94 per cent of sickness in the Council was reported as stress, depression or mental health conditions as defined by the UK Occupational Health Sickness Categories.

There were a total of 9,040 days of work lost to sickness in the Council for 2023/4.

A report published by the Council shows that sickness absence levels “are at one of the highest levels in the past five years with an average of almost 13 days lost per employee due to sickness”.

23.36 per cent of sickness in the council was defined as ‘Other’ while 15.8 per cent of the reasons given for sickness were defined as musculoskeletal problems.

7.7 per cent of total absence was from infections, 6.85 per cent from stomach, liver and kidney issues and 6.02 per cent from back and neck problems.

The remaining reasons given for sickness include chest and respiratory problems; eye, ear, nose and mouth issues; neurological issues; heart or blood pressure-related sickness or sickness that has not been defined.

In a report published by the Council seen by this newspaper, it states that: “Absence levels in 2023-24 are higher when compared to 2022-23 and are at one of the highest levels in the past five years with an average of almost 13 days lost per employee due to sickness (5.01% lost time rate”).

Of that lost time rate, 3.89 per cent of sickness absence is long-term and 0.95 per cent is short-term, which the Council define as less than 20 days.

The report given to committee members of the Policy and Resources Committee and accessible via the Council website states that: “Long-term sickness absence makes up 80 per cent of all sickness absence and employees who are absent for more than 20 days are referred for regular Occupational Health review to gain advice and information to support [a] return to work (either to their normal duties or to adjusted duties) or where a return to fitness for work is not reasonably foreseeable then alternative options are considered including ill health retirement."

The report also reveals that long waiting times are having an impact on the duration of sickness episodes: "The longer NHS waiting times are having a noticeable impact on the duration of sickness absence episodes and in some cases, employees are deemed unfit for work with no scope for adjusted duties while they await a specialist referral and appointment.”

There has been a slight increase in the number of employees with no sickness in the year in the Council with 378 employees who had no sickness in 2023-4  (47.7 per cent) compared to 45.29 per cent in 2022/3.

The data shows that sickness days peak in January, February and March, likely due to seasonal illnesses.