Millions of people around the world started working from home after March 2020. Photo / Unsplash
Millions of people around the world started working from home after March 2020. Photo / Unsplash
A working-from-home culture that emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic has contributed to a drop in ACC claims being paid out to Tauranga City Council staff.
Data obtained by the Bay of Plenty Times under the Official Information Act shows city council staff received $31,171 in ACC payments between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2022.
The payments were in response to 50 injury claims, most of which related to employees straining themselves by lifting or carrying things.
Of the claims, 23 were recorded in 2020, 14 in 2021 and 13 in 2022.
Council general manager of corporate services Alastair McNeil said most reported injuries in the past three years came from the council’s bylaws and traffic enforcement team.
There was a common trend relating to ergonomic or manual handling of items plus falling, tripping, or slipping on the same level, McNeil said.
“The work carried out by the bylaws and parking team is often physical and requires long periods of standing and walking.”
However, reports of injuries in this department had dropped because of changes in how the work was carried out, “such as using a car to scan vehicle number plates and changes to how we operated during Covid”.
McNeil said since 2020, and in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the council had shifted to “a more flexible way of working which gives staff the ability to work remotely”.
“The number of staff working remotely has had an impact on our reporting and observed health and safety events.”
The council also increased the size of its health, safety and wellbeing team in 2022.
Tauranga council parking and bylaw staff sustain the most injuries of all council staff. Photo / John Borren
“This has allowed us to better support our team leaders and increased our focus on worker engagement, resulting in improved health and safety outcomes.”
McNeil said since these injuries occurred, the council had increased its guidelines and processes and conducted in-depth risk analysis “following any serious incident resulting in corrective action”.
“We’ve also invested in staff training in the use of our digital reporting system.”
Last week, the Bay of Plenty Times reported staff at Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council made 36 and 28 ACC claims costing $36,221 and $28,265 respectively in the same timeframe.
Regional council risk and assurance manager Steven Slack said the area in which council employees seemed to suffer the most injuries was mostly outside jobs.
“This is primarily in ... unpredictable terrains, such as biosecurity, data services, and rivers and drainage, as they either involve walking in the bush rivers or unfamiliar environments.”
Western Bay council health, safety and wellbeing lead Clint Boyle said its animal services officers experienced the most injuries across the council team.
“This isn’t due to dog bites/aggression, but [is due to] lifting and moving dogs and slip, trip, and fall-related injuries.”
However, aggressive and intimidating behaviour towards Western Bay council employees was identified as a key risk factor for ACC claims. The subject was discussed as a concern among council staff and elected members during a council Audit, Risk and Finance Committee meeting on February 27.
Western Bay council chief executive John Holyoake said he felt that the local government sector normalised bad behaviour and the impact on staff faced with it was underestimated.
At neighbouring Rotorua Lakes Council, deputy chief executive of organisational enablement Thomas Colle said there was no particular department or area of the council which featured higher than any other.
Staff at the Rotorua council claimed the highest amount in ACC Claims of all four councils with $44,737.
A significant majority of the Rotorua claims were for soft tissue injuries such as sprains and strains.
