SICKLY council workers in Hammersmith and Fulham are accused of costing taxpayers £5.5m last year.

New figures show each member of staff in the authority's 4,933-strong workforce took an average of seven and a half days off sick in 2010/11.

Absence management company FirstCare, which compiled the figures from Freedom of Information Act requests, puts the cost to the council at around £146 per day for each employee.

The sickness rate is the same as in 2009/10 but down from an average of eight days for each worker in 2008/09 and a peak of 10 sick days in 2005/06.

FirstCare director James Arquette said: “Councils are already facing difficult financial decisions, and those in London with higher absence rates are missing opportunities to make vital savings.”

The council has questioned the accuracy of the figures, which it provided to FirstCare, and insists it tackles work absences through sickness training sessions for managers and a confidential 24-hour advice, support and counselling service.

It says the figures assume sick workers are receiving full pay, but its policy means pay is halved if an absence runs into six months and stopped completely after a year.

Councillor Harry Phibbs, community engagement leader, said: “We have made considerable progress in reducing days lost through claimed sickness but are determined to achieve more.

“It is quite unfair on their colleagues for staff to take time off when they are not genuinely ill."

He argued that the true sickness rate among current employees is lower, as recent cutbacks have reduced the size of the council workforce, and the total number of sick days includes those taken by former employees.

“Not including these people significantly reduces both the amount of money the council loses through absence and the average number of days lost a year falls to 6.2 days per member of staff," he said.

Cllr Phibbs said the asence rate had been cut down since 2010 by 'tightening up our HR processes, implementing a stringent sickness absence code and offering improved support services to our staff'.