A COUNCILLOR has said he is worried about morale among council employees following the news they took more days off than expected.

Tory councillor Tony Archer made the comments after a report revealed Basildon council had dropped below its target for work lost to short-term sickness. Employees had a target of a maximum eight days off sick between April 2008 and March 2009, but the end of year average was 8.67 days per worker.

At a recent meeting of the overview and scrutiny commission at the Basildon Centre, Mr Archer said: “Basildon Council needs to do something about this.

“I just wonder whether there is a morale problem.

“I’m quite surprised that after all the effort we’ve put into this, the figures have got worse and I don’t know why this is.”

Council officers said the increase in sick days was because of seasonal bouts of flu and the stomach bug, norovirus.

Adam Keating, a council spokesman, said: “Unusually high seasonal short-term sickness was experienced by many organisations across the country in the first three months of 2009, not just Basildon Council.

“This sickness level took us over the corporate target of eight days for 2008/09.”