Renfrewshire cops top the sick leave records

Figures reveal 7.5% of officers absent... the highest in Scotland

- EXPRESS REPORTER

Absence rates: More police officers in Renfrewshire on sick leave opposed to any other Scottish division.

A “disturbing” 7.5 per cent of all police officers in Renfrewshire are on sick leave-the highest number of any division in Scotland.

Figures, obtained via a Freedom of Information request, show K Division, which covers Renfrewshire and Inverclyde, has the highest absence rate in Scotland.

The Renfrewshire cops are among the 1,030 who are off sick across the country which has a national absence rate of 6.3 per cent.

The lowest absence figures are in 'A' division, which covers the northeast of Scotland, including Aberdeen, where 4.2 per cent of staff are off sick.

In comparison, the sickness absence rate across the UK for workers in both the private and public sectors is just two per cent, according to government body, the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

David Kennedy, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, yesterday described the sick leave figures as “disturbing”.

“The workloads and pressures on police officers are relentless,” he said.

“They are going off sick because that is the only respite they get.