Tackling rising rates of staff sickness and absence across the public sector is “a priority area”, according to the top civil servant.
Government CEO Andrew McLaughlin yesterday told the Public Accounts Committee that he was prioritising the issue, which is on the rise across the public sector.
It comes after a report earlier this year revealed that the civil service lost over 17,000 more days to staff sickness in 2024 compared to 2023.
Coughs, colds, and flu were recorded as the main culprits of the leave, which totalled 75,317 days in 2024 – the equivalent of over 200 years – across the public sector.
Anxiety and stress plagued the Health Department in particular, with 761 mental health-related absences in 2024.
Quizzed on his plans to get numbers down, Dr McLaughlin acknowledged that staff absence is “a major issue” but said a new system had been deployed across departments to understand the data.
Dr McLaughlin said there was “no doubt” the rise in figures could be attributed to better reporting from managers and employees, as productivity levels had not been proportionately affected by the rise.
However, he confirmed that figures from the Health Department are not yet included on the system.
Dr McLaughlin told the panel: “The numbers will go up again because Health is, we think, one of the areas where we have the biggest challenge [with staff sickness and absence].”
The Government CEO could not confirm the cost incurred as a result of rising leave when asked by the panel.
“There is no sense of how much [sickness and absence] is costing, but that’s something that we’re going to do when we think we’re on a stable and accurate trend in terms of the data,” he explained.
Dr McLaughlin added that cost figures are due to be produced in the next three months.