Hr Library

Civil service sickness absence hits 12-year high


www.personneltoday.com | Jo Faragher

The number of days lost to sickness absence in the civil service has risen to a 12-year high, according to new figures.

The Civil Service Absence report, released by the government at the end of last week, shows that an average of 8.1 days’ sickness absence were taken by staff in 2023, up slightly from 7.9 days in 2022 and the highest since 2011.

Most absence was down to long-term sickness (4.4 days per staff year), with mental ill-health the main cause of long-term absence (45%). Musculoskeletal issues caused 13% of long-term absence.

The biggest cause of short-term absence, which accounted for 3.7 days per staff year, was respiratory system illnesses (22%). Covid continued to cause significant absence, accounting for 21% of short-term periods out of work.

The figures show that a higher proportion of civil servants took no time off in the period to 31 March 2023, up to 49% from 42% a decade earlier.

However, some departments suffered more absence than others, with the highest level of absence at the Ministry of Justice, where employees took 11.1 days per staff year.

London-based civil servants had the lowest levels of sickness absence, at 6.2 days per year. Northern Ireland and Scotland had the highest levels of sickness absence at 9.5 and 9.4 days respectively.

Older workers took more days off – with those over 60 taking 10.8 days per year compared to 6.6 days for those aged between 16 and 29. Sickness absence also decreases with seniority, with absence highest…


Click Here to Read more /Source link

Show More

Related Articles

Back to top button