Chief Minister Allan Bell MHK has welcomed a reduction of nearly ten per cent in the level and cost of staff sickness absence across Government.
 
Latest figures show that in the twelve months to March 31, 2013, compared to the previous year:
 
•        The average number of days lost per employee was 6.94 compared to 7.68, a reduction of 9.6%;
•        The indicative cost per full time equivalent employee was ?1712 compared to ?1886, a reduction of 9.2% - and a saving overall of ?1.3 million.
 
During 2012/13:
 
•        29% of absences started on a Monday with a further 19% on a Tuesday;
•        The most common reasons for absences were ‘stress, anxiety, depression’,   ‘operations, hospitalisation’  and ‘musculoskeletal’ which together accounted for 46.4% of days lost;
•        Long term absence accounted for 59% of all sickness absence;
•        In terms of pay groups the average number of days lost per employee was highest within Public Transport and Whitley Council;
•        Most employees - 57% - had no absence during the period.
 
The Chief Minister said: ‘It is clear that the action which I requested to address staff sickness issues is having an effect. The vast majority of our staff are dedicated and conscientious, and most cases of absence are genuine. But there has been concern about the system being open to abuse by a minority.’
 
‘We must accept that absence is sometimes unavoidable but our strategy remains to reduce time lost through absence.   Timely reporting and monitoring, support mechanisms and early interventions have all assisted in achieving this and we will continue to robustly manage absence across Government.’