A total of more than 50,000 staff sick days in a 12-month period cost Argyll and Bute Council at least £3m.
Figures obtained by another Argyll and Bute newspaper, through a Freedom of Information Act request, also revealed that sick days taken in the area rose by more than 25 per cent in the 12 months before July 1, 2017.
A total of 50,749 sick days were taken in that period compared to 39,996 in the previous year.