The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency has announced that more than £36 million ($A64.7 million) in workplace production was lost last year due to sickness in the Province’s Public Service — a figure which has been criticised as “unacceptably high”.
The figures show that in the 2019-20 financial year, 5.9 per cent of all available working days were lost due to absences.
On average, each staff member was absent a total of 12.9 days, a slight increase from 12.6 days the previous year.
The Public Service employs just over 21,000 workers.
However, more than half (50.7 per cent) of all staff missed no days last year due to illness, while 64 per cent of absence spells lasted five working days or less.
Compared with the private sector, Public Service absence levels are much higher, with the average private sector worker losing an average of 4.3 days due to illness.
Staff who have served less than two years in the Public Service also recorded lower sickness absence rates than those who had served longer — 6.1 days and 13.3 days.
Leader of the Traditional Unionist Voice Party, Jim Allister said the sick leave figures were unacceptably high.
“Among the plethora of statistics two strike me most. One, how sick levels among probationers is substantially lower — suggesting the stricter sick leave regime operated for probationers works,” Mr Allister said.
“Two, the contrast with the private sector again suggests a different culture at play in the public sector,” he said.
Anxiety, stress, depression and other psychiatric illnesses accounted for the most absences (37.4 per cent) and, within this category, work-related stress accounting for around a third of the days lost.
Looking at absences across each Department, the Department of Justice had the highest sickness absence rate with an average of 15.5 days lost, while the Executive Office had the least at 9.3 days.
Belfast, 28 June 2020
