Sickness rate at farm cash agency twice UK average

STAFF at a Government department that has faced heavy criticism for its handling of payments to farmers have been taking almost twice as many sick days as the national average.

Workers at the Rural Payments Agency took an average of 10.2 sick days each per year between 2007 and 2010.

Sickness absence was at its highest in 2007-08 during the period when the RPA was experiencing its most acute difficulties as thousands of farmers found themselves receiving late or inaccurate payments. The figures, revealed under the Freedom of Information Act, show that during this time 36,000 sick days were taken. In the past year this figure has fallen to an average of 9.2 each.

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Recent figures from the CBI showed the average UK worker takes 6.4 days off sick per year. For the public sector this rises to 8.3, still well short of the RPA average.

The RPA is undergoing a reformation led by Defra Minister Jim Paice and a spokeswoman confirmed the way sick days were being monitored was being reviewed month-by-month by its directors.

However, the TaxPayers’ Alliance called on the agency to do more to bring its sickness rates in line with the private sector.

Campaign manager Robert Oxley told the Yorkshire Post: “Having being previously fined large amounts for poor performance the Rural Payments Agency needs be working extra hard to make savings. The RPA has failed farmers previously so it is of little surprise that it is failing to manage staff sickness properly.”

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An RPA spokeswoman said: “Better customer service is a key priority and our people are central to achieving the high standards we are aiming for. Wherever possible, we have concentrated on understanding the reasons behind long term sickness absence and our approach has been to ensure these people are supported and that we get to the heart of any underlying issues affecting their health and wellbeing at work.”

Yesterday, farmers were urged to seek professional advice if they are contacted by the RPA regarding allegations they are claiming subsidies for the same land as another farmer.

The RPA confirmed it has contacted a small number of farmers on the “dual use” issue. The move has prompted concern the European Commission wants to end the practice and the RPA said its enquires would “demonstrate to the EC that dual use can and does work in some circumstances”.

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