THE average council worker in Worcester took nearly two weeks off sick in one year, it has emerged.

Fresh data released by Worcester City Council has sparked concern - with its employees taking off an average of four days' sickness in the first six months of the 2015/16 financial year.

Bosses also say the entire 12-month period for the 2014/15 financial year saw it average 9.1 days, more than double the private sector rate of 4.4 days.

The figure is also currently running above the council's own aim of getting sickness rates to around 7.5 days off per year.

It follows a serious crackdown in sickness absences including revision of terms and conditions which means the workforce now get just 90 per cent sick pay, instead of the full rate.

New procedures are also in place encouraging senior managers to actively identify health problems and take early steps to reduce time off.

Some councillors say they are concerned the stats are going in the wrong direction - as recently as the 2013/14 year it was eight days per worker.

Labour Councillor Lynn Denham said: "I'm concerned that these sickness levels are greater than they ought to be in a number of departments.

"I've got concerns about the pressure on our staff, the impact of council vacancies, the impact of austerity."

But council bosses say work is going on at the moment to try and bring it down - including some extra work on the mental health of staff.

Lesley Meagher, the corporate director for resources, said: "There are various initiatives underway on sickness levels including long-term sickness rates where we are focusing on back to work interviews to really try and understand the reasons for it."

She said it was about tackling possible sickness "earlier in the process" which would make a difference.

Councillor Chris Mitchell, the cabinet member for finance, said: "The management has recently done some training on mental illness to really try and understand any issues people face, which is good thing."

At Worcestershire County Council the average worker takes just under eight days off each year.

Nationally, more than 130 million days were lost due to workers calling in sick last year - down from 178 million 1993.

Minor illnesses were the most common reason given for sickness absence but more days were lost to back, neck and muscle pain than any other cause.