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Prevention Is Better Than Cure

Mark Devenport | 17:07 UK time, Tuesday, 29 January 2008

The DUP's Stephen Moutray wants to know what measures Sir Reg Empey has put in place to "prevent staff becoming ill". The Employment Minister gives him a long answer about his department's occupational health strategy. But I guess if Sir Reg had really got the business of preventing people becoming ill cracked, he might find another more lucrative niche in life, rather than holding down a job in this Executive

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  • 1.
  • At 07:26 PM on 29 Jan 2008,
  • Martin wrote:

Mark I first noticed this last night when looking through written answers for the past week. I noted Sir Reg's response which he said his department (Department for Employment and Learning) has utilised a range of programmes aimed at promoting health and well-being for all staff, for example the Health Works programme; the Employee Assistance Programme; the Condition Management Programme; Pre-maternity seminars; Managing Attendance, Relationships and Stress courses, pilot- Fast Track physiotherapy, as well as the Occupational Health Service and a dedicated Welfare Officer. In addition to these programmes and services, flexible working arrangements and special leave arrangements are also available to promote work-life balance.
Sir Reg has fallen well short in his answer. Reg doesn’t recognise that people can fall ill and then on the other token realise that when staff are ill they shouldn’t be given a written warning for doing so. To make things worse Reg probably doesn’t care if people get dismissed through their illness. What does Reg say to that? I am sure that there are members of Reg's department who pray every night they don’t get ill otherwise they will get left without a job.

  • 2.
  • At 10:09 AM on 31 Jan 2008,
  • RJ wrote:

I'm no HR expert, but I'm pretty sure you can't get sacked for taking the day off with diarrhoea and vomiting.

  • 3.
  • At 04:18 PM on 03 Feb 2008,
  • Martin wrote:

RJ,
It is a case in the Civil Service that if you are off for whatever reason and break their trigger points you will get sacked. Their trigger points are 10 rolling days or 4 periods in a 12 month period. So if you had 4 periods of diarrhoea or vomiting or worse you will get a P45. There are cases where people with Cancer and MS have been sacked. And Sir Reg knows this.

  • 4.
  • At 07:56 PM on 04 Feb 2008,
  • David wrote:

Would these policies and practices be useful if applied to our assembly members?

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