MUSCULO-SKELETAL injuries were the bmost common reasons for sickness absence at the council last year.

The Times can this week reveal the reasons staff at North Ayrshire Council called in sick for the year 2014/15.

But overall, there was a fall from 2013/14 for most of the reasons given.

The figures come after the Times previously revealed that NAC missed its annual target for days lost per fulltime employee for 2014/15.

The council had set a target for maximising attendance performance at 7.9 average days lost per employee. But they narrowly missed that target as 8.1 average days were lost.

Figures for 2014/15 show that there were 9,106 days lost due to musculo-skeletal absences compared with 10,882 the previous year.

Other reasons includedstress/anxiety (7,696), surgicalprocedure (5,196), gastro intestinal (3,485) and cardio vascular (2,383) – all of which showed a drop from the previous year.

However, there were slight increases in other reasons including neurological (2,198), work related stress (1,862), cancer/cancer related illness (1,317) and viral (2,014).

Earlier this month, the Times told how total pay costs (excluding employers’ on-costs) of sickness absence for the year between April 2014 and March this year was £5,220,260.

The quarterly figures increased from September onwards with the highest cost coming between January and March with £1,410,215.

A report presented to the NAC Cabinet in June stated: “Sickness absence presents a cost to the council, both in terms of the direct cost of providing for those absent and in lost work days resulting in reduced or delayed service delivery.

“A proposal is being developed to deliver efficiency savings within services through reduced absence.”