Sask. auditor: social services workers frequently off sick

Workers in the social services ministry are taking more sick days than most othergovernment employees, according to the latest report from the provincial auditor.

Judy Ferguson says last year the average social services' worker took 10.7sick days in the last fiscal year.

That is about a day longer than the average government worker, who took 9.8days of sick leave from April 2014 to April 2015.

Ferguson says studies show that employees who deliver so-called human services, such as social workers, face more stress on the job.

"As an employer, you just don't sit back and accept it," Ferguson said. "You have to make sure that you're dealing with situations to help your employees deal with the stress, you know, and try to take steps to minimize that stress."

The area of government with the mostsick days per employee is the Ministry of Justice which oversees jail guards and other corrections workers.

The average worker in that ministry took 11.8sick days in the last fiscal year.