Workers "sick" for 5.146 days: In the Municipality of Budva, employee absences are almost as high as during the corona pandemic

Budva Municipality employees, 427 of them employed in 17 departments and secretariats, spent a total of 5.146 days on sick leave last year, which is 520 days more than in 2024, when there was also an increase in employee absence compared to the year before.

This is shown by the annual report of the Secretariat for Local Self-Government, which was submitted to "Vijesti".

"As of December 31, 2025, 427 civil servants and state employees were employed in local government bodies and services, of which three were employed on a fixed-term basis (based on mandate). Based on the submitted reports on temporary incapacity for work - sick leave, 97 employees in 17 administrative bodies and services of the Municipality of Budva were absent from work on this basis in 2025, which is 22,7 percent of the total number of employees, with an average absence of 53 days per absent employee (total number of sick leave days/number of employees who used sick leave), or 12 days per employee (total number of days on sick leave/total number of employees)," the report states.

As stated by the Secretariat for Local Self-Government, if we take into account the report on temporary incapacity for work in 2024, it can be concluded that the number of employees who were absent due to temporary incapacity for work - sick leave, is at the same level in 2025.

"This confirms that the practice of sick leave abuse is stagnating, or rather, is in a slight decline, which has a positive effect on the working environment and productivity of bodies and services," the report states.

The most sick leave was used during the summer months, during the summer season, when many workers who are privately engaged in tourism are absent from work in local government.

In January, workers were on sick leave for 361 days, in February 326, in March 323, in April 251, while the lowest number was in May 208 days. However, the number of absences from work began to increase in June, when municipal workers were on sick leave for 428 days, in July as many as 583, and in August, employees were on sick leave for 811 days.

In September, that number drops to 563 days, while in October there were 430, in November 437, and in December 376 days on sick leave.

When looking at statistics by municipal secretariats and services, the lowest sick leave per employee was recorded in the Secretariat for Finance and the Office of the Mayor, 0,36 days and 1,12 days, respectively.

The highest number of sick days per employee was recorded, as stated in the annual report, in the Management Service - 87,5 days. There was a lot of "sick days" in the Secretariat for Social Affairs - 36,05 days per employee, but also in the Secretariat for Communal and Housing Affairs - 28,36 days per employee.

The overburdened municipal administration will "spend" a record 11,3 million euros on salaries this year. That is 1,2 million euros more than was planned in the budget for 2025, so the item for employee salaries is practically increasing year after year.

Employees in the Municipality of Budva spent a total of 4.625 days on sick leave in 2024, which is 600 days more than in 2023.

The increase in the number of employees is also accompanied by an increase in the number of employees in the Municipality. During 2022, there were 349 permanent employees, of which 97 employees in 17 administrative bodies and services were on sick leave for 5.066 days.

A record of sorts was achieved in 2021, which was the year of the coronavirus pandemic, when as many as 5.386 days of sick leave were taken. The situation was no better in 2020. At that time, the Municipality had even fewer employees, with 308. However, they also made maximum use of sick leave, so as many as 5.346 days of absence were taken in 2020.

That it was similar in previous years is confirmed by the fact that in 2019, when there were 316 permanent employees, local government employees were absent for a total of 5.141 days. The situation was no better in 2018, when a quarter of employees were also on sick leave, and were absent from work for as many as 6.197 days. At that time, out of 331 permanent employees, 85 used sick leave, an average of 72 days per absent employee, or 19 days per employee.

Since March 2022, in order to increase work discipline in the Municipality of Budva, new methods of recording absence from work have been applied with the aim of preventive action and reducing employee absenteeism. Since then, electronic records of attendance at work have been applied to all employees, in accordance with the Decision on Electronic Records of Attendance at Work, which regulates in more detail the method of implementing the system of electronic records of arrivals and departures from work.

Previously, workers were reported for suspicious sick leave

In 2021, the Secretariat for Local Self-Government also wrote to the Health and Sanitary Inspection of the Inspection Affairs Administration, in order to carry out inspection supervision and determine whether the health condition of a certain number of employees requires several months of treatment, or whether the selected doctors and/or medical commission were obliged to provide employees who were unable to work due to health problems with instructions to determine the degree of disability for the purpose of possible realization of a disability pension.

In 2021, health and sanitary inspectors from the Inspection Affairs Directorate fined doctors at the Budva Health Center who issued sick leaves for nine municipal employees, because they found shortcomings in medical documentation.