Low morale causing thousands of sick days

Morale among staff at Dudley Council is so low it causes thousands of days off sick according to its opposition leader.

Labour’s Cllr Adam Aston told a meeting of the authority on July 14 the council’s policy of saving cash by not filling vacancies is causing pain for workers.

The council’s latest report shows it saved £4m in unpaid wages during the last financial year.

During questions to the council’s Conservative leader, Cllr Patrick Harley, Cllr Aston said: “This is piling intolerable pressure on those who remain, teams across every directorate are being expected to more and more with fewer and fewer staff.

“The council lost 59,142 days due to sickness in 23/24, 35,000 of them were long-term with stress and anxiety being the leading cause of these absences.”

He asked if his opposite number understood the council was losing good people and did he recognise the ‘really poor morale’ among frontline staff.

Cllr Harley said: “I don’t recognise that vision in Dudley, we have gone through a hell of a lot of change. There is a total operating model being produced and a huge restructure going on.

“That will produce savings but allows opportunity for those who want to thrive by having a good, long career with Dudley Council.”

Cllr Harley insisted the changes were needed to make the council financially sustainable and added former senior managers had let politicians down.

Cllr Aston added: “It is incredibly concerning that conversations staff are having with me don’t sound like conversations they are having with him, which should perhaps ring alarm bells about the culture within this organisation.”

Cllr Harley told the meeting the council had many good staff and added: “Reorganisation and restructures are unpopular, people naturally don’t like change but this authority has to change. Change is good when we bring people with us.”