30 May 2008
Sickness absenteeism in the civil service is more than a third higher in Northern Ireland than in Britain, the Northern Ireland Audit Office has found.
Each Northern Ireland civil servant takes on average 13.7 days a year off ill, compared with ten days in the rest of the UK. The cost of absenteeism to the service is £25m annually, says a report by the audit office. More than 70% of days lost are part of absences lasting more than 20 days, with stress-related and other psychological illnesses the most common causes.
The absenteeism rate among women civil servants is twice that in Britain. Northern Ireland comptroller and auditor general John Dowdall said the problem was not being adequately addressed by senior management. Waiting times of more than two months to see the occupational health service were too long, he said.
John Corey, general secretary of the main Northern Ireland public sector union Nipsa, said short-term sickness levels were consistent with those in the private sector and that the problem lay with long-term, stress-related illnesses. He said the causes of this must be addressed, rather than managers using what he called 'big stick policy and procedures'.
PFmay2008
