A COUNCILLOR is defending his officers after they were branded skivers for clocking up a £4million sick-pay bill in just one year.

Coun John Milburn said many officers were genuinely sick and they should not feel pressured into returning to work.

But he warned "a very small minority" of staff who were suspected of taking time off for the sake of it that action would be taken against them -- some dismissals had already taken place.

A total of 65,108 working days are expected to be lost among Blackburn with Darwen Council's 5,055 full-time employees by the end of this financial year.

In some departments, staff are taking, on average, 22 days off a year on top of their holiday entitlement. Coun Milburn, in charge of resources, said: "I don't think it is fair to just sweepingly refer to officers as skivers.

"We have a very hard-working staff, and their hard work is very much the reason we achieved an 'excellent' rating in government inspections and also won Council of the Year. But that doesn't disguise the fact that £4million is a lot of money and we will be looking to improve things."

Action taken so far to tackle absenteeism includes meetings in all departments warning that staff sickness was being clamped down on, along with a memo to all staff about the the cost of sickness.

Back-to-work interviews are now held with all staff. Staff are also to be assured that the genuineness of their illness is not being questioned but they are also to be informed of the impact their absence has on their department. It is hoped this will stop people taking time off for the sake of it.