CRACKING down on sickness levels could save Redcar and Cleveland council £1.2m a year.

The worst absence rates in the region are said to bedevil the authority. People The number of people taking time off sick is way above average, costing nearly £680,000 between October and December last year.

The district auditor has told the council that if levels remain high, it will need to ensure that services are not failing.

Councillors are now demanding that methods of dealing with sickness absence are strictly adhered to. If matters still do not improve, the methods themselves will be scrutinised.

Line managers who seem to be failing to follow procedures could face disciplinary action.

The council has a target of 8.1 days lost per full-time employee by 2004-05. Sickness absence from October to December 2000 was 11.92 days.

The social services department topped the league with an 8.47pc sickness rate costing £262,000.

The lowest was education which recorded a level of 3.81pc between October and December. This cost £29,401.

A report to the council executive said: "The management of sickness absence is not an issue that managers can ever put on the back burner. Levels of future sickness can never be predicted.

"Managers must recognise there is a long way to go and a lot of hard work to be done if the council is to reduce sickness absence."

Coun John Simms, lead member for social services, said: "The unions have got to listen to this because of the situation we are in and our policy of no compulsory redundancies. No-one seems to know who works overtime in this place and it does need monitoring. It is a real situation we have to face."

Coun Keith Pudney said: "This is the one area which has gone the opposite way to what was predicted. It could nullify our whole programme in key areas. This is bedevilling us and we need to ensure we take the matter seriously."

Chairman Coun David Walsh said: "It runs like a thread in nearly every report."