Council staff sickness absence is costing taxpayers around £3 million a day. (Image: Getty)
Council staff taking time off sick are costing taxpayers around £3million a day, with local authority workers taking twice as many sick days as their counterparts in the private sector, according to research.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance said the figures show local authority sickness absence has become a growing financial burden, with council staff taking an average of 10 sick days each. The think tank’s analysis found the absence rate was almost a third higher than across the rest of the public sector. Mental health-related absence was highlighted as a particular concern, accounting for around a quarter of all employee absences.
Mental health-related absence costs councils an estimated £176 million a year. (Image: Getty)
The research found that £176 million was lost to sick days specifically attributed to mental health reasons, up from £50million in 2022-23.
Overall, the TaxPayers’ Alliance calculated that council sickness absence amounts to around nine million working days each year, equivalent to 41,302 full-time roles.
Shimeon Lee, a policy analyst at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Local authorities are letting absenteeism spiral out of control. Council bosses cannot plead poverty while failing to manage their own staff, which leaves taxpayers with a multi-billion pound bill for lost working days and expensive temporary cover.”
He added: “It’s time for town halls to get a grip on staff sickness, cap expensive agency use, and prove they can get the most out of their existing workforce before demanding more cash.”
The figures come as councils increasingly turn to agency workers to fill staffing gaps.
According to research, local authorities spend around £2billion a year on agency staff, equivalent to approximately £8.5 million per day.
David Taylor, a former councillor who co-wrote the report, said councils were becoming too dependent on costly agency workers.
“Local authorities cannot keep being held hostage by expensive staffing agencies, spending £8.5m of taxpayers’ money every day,” he said.
“The huge variation in agency costs, and the percentage of staff on agency contracts, shows that the dependence is not inevitable.”
Mr Taylor said temporary workers had a legitimate role in providing short-term cover but argued that some councils appeared to have agency staff remaining in positions for years. “This includes senior positions,” he said.
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“They need to get a grip on recruitment and retention, build stronger in-house teams, and get costs down.”
The research was compiled using information obtained through Freedom of Information requests, covering the period from 2022 to 2025.
Fenland District Council in Cambridgeshire was identified as having the highest proportion of working days lost to mental health-related absence among the councils examined.
The council provides a range of measures to support staff wellbeing, including what it describes as a generous holiday allowance and access to discounted facilities.
It also has “mental health first aiders” who are tasked with delivering campaigns and fundraising activities designed to increase awareness of mental health across the council.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance has called for ministers to make additional council funding conditional on reducing sickness absence.
The think tank also wants the Government to take action to limit local authorities’ reliance on agency workers and require councils to publish more detailed and transparent absence data.
The organisation argues that reducing sickness absence could help councils make better use of existing staff and reduce the need for expensive temporary cover.
The figures come at a time when local authorities are under significant financial pressure, with councils facing difficult decisions over spending and staffing.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance said councils should demonstrate that they are managing their existing workforce effectively before seeking additional funding from taxpayers.
Express.co.uk contacted Fenland District Council for comment.
