A COUNCIL is taking steps to claw back thousands of hours lost each year to staff sickness caused by stress.

Hartlepool Borough Council is introducing a policy for managing stress at work among its employees.

Although there has been a stress policy in place since 1996, the council admits that it remains the highest cause of absence among council workers.

A draft of the latest policy, which was presented to councillors for scrutiny last week, aims to identify and treat causes of stress at work.

Council officials said that although the main objective was to cut down on lost hours, the policy would look to prevent the causes of stress, rather than punish employees.

Chief personnel services officer Joanne Machers said: "Stress is a major reason for absence and we realised that we needed to manage it in a more controlled way."

The policy will ensure more training for management to identify stress in the workforce. It will also encourage staff to take advantage of the council's in-house facilities, which includes a wellbeing team and counselling service.

The council has also been taking steps to minimise a major cause of stress - threats of aggression and violence against its workforce.

A draft corporate policy has been produced, which, when it is adopted, will define threats of aggression and violence. The policy will include abusive correspondence and telephone calls, as well as staff threatened to their faces.

Ms Machers said: "We have a duty to protect staff, many of whom are on the frontline, dealing with vulnerable people at the extremes of emotion.

"The policy makes it clear exactly what the council considers to be a threat of violence. Although we are conscious that the public and council staff might have different views on what is aggressive and what is just assertiveness."

She said the council would act quickly against anyone threatening staff.

"If someone has over-stepped the mark, we will take appropriate action. This could involve writing to them offering to withdraw services if they are not happy or, in extreme cases, involving the police."