Elected Member Briefing Note 2026, No. 47
About this Briefing Note
Report by: Arun Singh - Chief Social Work Officer
Date: 14 April 2026
Subject: Social Work and Social Care Staff Absence Analysis
Details
Purpose
Additional information was requested at full council on 14 January 2026 following presentation of the Chief Social Work Officer report, on absence levels across social work and social care services.
Briefing Information
The social work and social care workforce employed by the council is predominantly female. In the 25-34 age group, the ratio of male to female employees is 1:3; however, in the 55-64 age group, the ratio extends to 1:5. Overall, the male workforce is over 200, whilst females make up just over 800, a 1:4 ratio.
Data shows that the highest concentration of employees in the TAS4 and TAS6 grades (where many of our front-line social care roles are concentrated) are in the 45-54 and 55-64 age groups. Our front-line social worker roles are concentrated in grade PR9, which is predominantly spread across the 25-34, 35-44 and 45-54 age groups.
Focusing on absence in the TAS4 grade ((care at home) reablement assistants), most absence incidents are in the 45-54 and 55-64 age groups. The top three reasons for absence are:
- Infections
- Stomach, liver, kidney and digestion
- Stress/depression/mental health/fatigue
Average sickness days for this TAS4 group are highest in the 45-54 age group (25 people/49 instances) at around 13 days resulting in 657 lost working days. The second highest is the 55-64 age group (51 people/97 instances) at around 9 days, with a loss of 851 working days. Across all age groups of TAS4 staff, there were 258 absence incidents, resulting in approximately 2,434 lost working days.
Absence rates across all social work and social care teams show incremental increases from approximately 50 incidents for those aged 16-24 to approximately 450 incidents for those aged 55-64. The top three reasons for absence across the workforce are as noted above. However, analysis shows the fourth most common reason for absence in TAS4 and TAS6 grades relates to musculoskeletal problems. Staff who work in these grades are often in front-facing roles that are physically demanding.
The top two reasons for staff absence at PR9 grade are infections and stress/depression/mental health/fatigue. Social work research often cites the emotional demands of the job as resulting in staff stress and burnout.
Drilling down further into mental health-related absence shows variance between different grades of staff. TAS4 staff reported stress, depression and bereavement as the three main reasons; TAS6 staff reported stress, personal problems and bereavement; and PR9 staff reported anxiety disorders, stress and work-related stress.
Analysis of staff absence across the social work and social care workforce, whilst showing typical reasons for absence (e.g., infections and gastrointestinal illness), also highlights sector-specific reasons (e.g., musculoskeletal conditions for staff working in front-facing, physically demanding roles such as care at home; and more stress-related conditions for staff working in public protection-facing roles). The analysis shows that long term absence is most commonly associated with musculoskeletal conditions, stress related illness and chronic reoccurring health condition, whereas shorter more frequent incidents of absence are in relation to infections and gastrointestinal issues.
The impact of staff absence on teams predominantly relates to the relative composition and size of teams. For example, the top three grades of staff with the most absences are TAS4 with just over 400 instances, TAS6 with 250 instances and PR9 with around 200 instances; this level of absence is relative to the size of each team. For some services (e.g., care at home), essential cover arrangements will result in additional expenditure, as service users require direct support that has been assessed for and cannot be missed. For other services (e.g., social work teams), staff absence either results in increased waiting times for assessments or prioritisation of workloads, with existing staff picking up high-risk cases. Staff who end up with a higher, more complex caseload can be exposed to higher levels of work-related stress, which can further exacerbate absence in teams.
Absence levels across social work and social care are above the council average figure. The concentration and specific demands of the TAS4/TAS6 and PR9 roles are highlighted above, which exacerbates the level of absence rate for this workforce.
Team Leaders across service areas work effectively with HR colleagues to ensure staff are provided with employee support services as appropriate. All managers now have access to their team 'People Analytics Dashboard', which allows them to track staff absence
