Department for Work and Pensions to pay staff for not pulling a sickie
The government is to pay bonuses to civil servants who turn up for work rather than pulling a sickie, according to newspaper reports.
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) minister Lord Hunt said cash incentives are planned as part of attempts to tackle high levels of public sector absenteeism, reports the Telegraph.
The 134,820 civil servants staffing the DWP's Jobcentres, pension offices, Child Support Agency and Health and Safety Executive, have one of the highest sickness rates in government. They take an average of 12.6 days off work a year at a cost of £100m to the taxpayer.
Hunt said: "I certainly think using incentives is a good thing and we at the DWP, as part of this process, got some money allocated towards some incentive schemes."
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development estimated that the average for the public sector is 10.3 days a year, and is far worse than the private sector average of 6.8 days.
COMMENTS
Whatever next? Maybe they will be paid attendance money along with the bonus payment for not taking a sickie on top of their salary. They're able to retire at 60 with big index linked pensions!!! Is it any wonder the country's in such a mess. If Managers within the Civil Service spent some time in the private sector learning how to manage, understanding the meaning of "return on investment ".
Remember, this is taxpayers' money the government is going spend on individuals who have no interest in their work. If the civil servants are taking to many sickies, put them through the system and sack them. There's plenty of people more than capable of doing the job. They couldn't be any worse than some of the individuals I've encountered within the service.
Ian Martin
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