Council finds quick cure for sickness

The city council’s current policy on sickness absence is due to expire at the end of this month and a new policy was expected to be rubber-stamped at a meeting yesterday.

But Labour councillors expressed concerns about the lack of consultation and managed to refer the matter to a full council meeting on February 2.

That move meant that the council faced two days where it did not have a policy in place to deal with sickness absence.

Alastair Maclean, director of corporate governance, told councillors that the decision meant that “if there is a sickness absence we would not be able to regulate it.”

But officials wrote to the trade unions after the meeting informing them that the current policy would be extended.