The new target: an extra sickie

Not sure you'd get away with this in the private sector. Cornwall Council is increasing its "target" number of annual sick days per employee from 8.5 to 9.5. Here's the official explanation:

"The target has been revised to reflect last year's actual absence levels. This should better take into account the impact on the workforce of the financial issues the Council is facing this year. Whilst performance against this new target now looks good, for the year up to the end of October, it should be remembered that we are now approaching the winter months, when sickness trends are higher, and that a great deal of organisational upheaval is expected to occur over the coming months as a result of the emergency budget."