Stress and anxiety remain the primary drivers of sickness absence among West Lothian Council staff, accounting for 46,000 of the 81,000 days lost to absence in the year ending 31 March 2026. Although the total number of days lost decreased slightly compared to the previous year, mental health issues continue to dominate long-term absences.
Long-Term Absence Figures
Councillors were informed that a significant proportion of sickness absences are attributable to long-term absence, defined as a continuous period exceeding four weeks. Education and Operational Services experienced the highest number of days lost. In Education Services, 32,482 of 46,919 days lost (69.23%) were due to long-term absence, involving 510 employees. Operational Services reported 30,892 of 37,593 days lost (82.17%) as long-term, affecting 458 staff.
National Context and Mental Health Impact
A report to the Corporate Policy and Resources PDSP noted that these figures reflect a national trend. Claire Wallace, HR Services Manager, stated: “This remains reflective of the wider picture in the UK, with mental ill health reported to be the top cause of long-term absence in the context of an on-going increase in sickness absence across sectors.” Mental and behavioural reasons accounted for approximately 32% of long-term absences and staff days lost, totaling 46,004 days. This far exceeds other categories: musculoskeletal issues (15,236 days), infectious diseases (10,408 days), and accidents, incidents, and poisoning (9,526 days).
Breakdown of Stress-Related Absences
Within the mental and behavioural category, personal stress was the leading cause, resulting in 21,515 days lost. Work-related stress accounted for 7,095 days, anxiety for 5,970 days, and combined work and personal stress for 4,374 days.
Council Response and Counselling Service
Lesley Henderson, Head of Corporate Services, told councillors: “Absence rates for the Council in 2025/26 have seen a slight decrease in comparison to 2024/25. Stress continues to be the highest contributor to levels of sickness absence across the council and action continues to focus on support for services reporting high levels of stress related absence, with guidance on identifying early signs of stress and how to develop action plans to effectively address those.”
Since 1 December 2025, a new telephone-based counselling service provided by Health Assured has been operational. Between 1 January and 1 March 2026, 133 calls were made to the service. Of these, 11 were referred for face-to-face counselling, seven for video conferencing counselling, one for online CBT, and one for Right Steps therapy, an online self-help tool. Call contact reasons indicated that 58.65% related to mental health, 12.03% to life events, 11.28% to legal issues, 6.77% to relationships, 6.02% to work-related matters, and 5.26% to service enquiries.
