A FALL in the number of sick days taken by Wigan Council staff is saving taxpayers £1 million.

The latest figures show a 13.5 per cent reduction in the number of sick days taken in the last financial year, with 9.99 days lost per Full-Time-Equivalent (FTE), the equivalent of 4543.36 days.

Wigan Council’s chief executive, Donna Hall, said: “I’m delighted that in the process of encouraging a happy and healthy working environment we’ve managed to save the taxpayer £1 million – it really is a win-win situation.”