Border Telegraph | News | Staff stressbusting costs met by government

Tuesday, 6th January, 2009

Published: Wednesday, 12th December, 2007 12:30

Staff stressbusting costs met by government - SBC

By Atholl Innes

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SCOTTISH Borders Council has hit back at calls by an SNP List MSP to scrap a £30,000 programme for staff.

Christine Grahame described the course, which included Ta Chi and reflexology, as ‘bizarre’ and said the Council had to get its priorities right.

But an SBC spokesperson said: “As the largest employer in the Borders, with approximately 5,500 members of staff, our employees’ health at work is something we take very seriously indeed.

“Employee absence is a significant cost to 90 per cent of businesses according to research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

“Their latest employee absence survey reveals that on average sickness absence costs employers £659 per employee every year which is a potential cost of £3.5 million in a workforce of 5,500.

“We have spent approximately £30,000 over the last three years on anti-stress measures for Council staff.

“This is aimed at keeping our employees as healthy and happy at work as possible. The cost was met by Quality of Life funds from the Scottish Government, which ends in March 2008.

“Councils were encouraged to ensure the health and well-being of staff as well as the wider community was improved and this was done through Scotland’s Health at Work (SHAW) – now known as Healthy Working Lives.

“All local authorities in Scotland were encouraged by the NHS and the Scottish Government to apply for this money and implement similar schemes.

“Any measures we can take to potentially reduce levels of staff sickness we will do in order to ensure that frontline service delivery to the public is maximised.”

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