STAFF at Fermanagh District Council have clocked up over 3,500 days of sick leave in a year.

An average of nine days were lost by the Council’s 429 employees during 2012/13, a slight increase from the previous year.

Fermanagh District Council says it has policies and procedures in place to deal with sickness absence but didn’t disclose any details.

“These procedures and policies are communicated to both employees and managers. Absence data is reviewed on a daily basis by line managers, who’s responsibility it is to deal with absences which arise within their areas,” a Council spokeswoman told The Impartial Reporter.

306 members of staff at the Council are in full time positions while 123 are part time.

The figures on absenteeism were released this week by the Local Government Auditor who said it was important that Councils “rigorously manage absence to ensure that staff welfare is protected and that the delivery of front line services is not adversely affected by absenteeism.”.

Asked if Fermanagh District Council was concerned at the level of days its employees lose due to sickness, its spokeswoman said: “The Council monitors cases of absenteeism very closely and as previously mentioned, policies and procedures are in place to manage such instances, thereby minimising impact to service provision.”