Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Civil ServiceLatest NewsWellbeingOccupational Health

Sicknote civil servants cost government £425m in 2005

by Personnel Today 11 Oct 2006
by Personnel Today 11 Oct 2006

The Civil Service lost more than five million working days to staff sickness absence last year, official figures have revealed.

Cabinet Office data showed that the average number of working days lost in 2005 was 9.8 across all departments, costing the government £425m. The statistics compare unfavourably with the private sector, where the latest CBI figures put the average absence rate at six days a year.

The figures will come as a disappointment to government officials, who are determined that the public sector as an employer must set an example for healthy workplaces and good occupational health practice.

The percentage of employees losing only five working days or less was 72.7%, down from 73.3% the previous year. The proportion of staff with no spells of sickness absence also fell slightly.

But there remains a significant problem with long-term absence, with non-attendance for unknown reasons accounting for nearly a quarter (23.4%) of all absences.

The worst-performing large department was HM Revenue & Customs, with an average of 11.8 working days lost. However, the highest absence rate among all departments and government agencies was in the Meat Hygiene Service, which lost an average of 17.2 days.

The Cabinet Office was the best-performing department for the second successive year, with an average of just 4.2 working days lost.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Sickness absence: How government departments fared in 2005



  • HM Revenue & Customs 11.8 average working days lost

  • Home Office 10.6 average working days lost

  • Scottish Executive 10.6 average working days lost

  • Transport 10.2 average working days lost

  • Work and Pensions 10.1 average working days lost

  • HM Land Registry 9.0 average working days lost

  • National Assembly for Wales 9.0 average working days lost

  • Education and Skills 8.9 average working days lost

  • Constitutional Affairs 8.5 average working days lost

  • Ministry of Defence 8.3 average working days lost

  • Environment, Food & Rural Affairs 8.1 average working days lost

  • Trade & Industry 7.1 average working days lost

  • Health 6.7 average working days lost

  • Culture, Media & Sport 6.6 average working days lost

  • Office of the Deputy Prime Minister 5.9 average working days lost

  • International Development 5.7 average working days lost

  • HM Treasury 5.0 average working days lost

  • Cabinet Office 4.2 average working days lost

  • All other agencies 8.9 average working days lost

Source: Analysis of sickness absence in the Civil Service 2005

Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

previous post
Government outlines areas still entitled to assisted grant aid
next post
Scots bar workers prove health benefits of smoking ban

You may also like

Graduate jobs this summer ‘will be toughest since...

25 Jun 2025

Employers bemoan Gen Z’s lack of ‘work readiness’...

24 Jun 2025

HR underprepared for likely increase in M&A activity

24 Jun 2025

Supporting employees through substance abuse

24 Jun 2025

Amazon invests £40bn in UK creating thousands of...

24 Jun 2025

With HR absence rising, is your people team...

24 Jun 2025

Level 7 apprenticeship funding cuts to cost employers...

23 Jun 2025

Skills receive £1.2bn boost in new industrial strategy

23 Jun 2025

Low-paid could receive ‘Britannia’ dividend under Reform’s non-dom...

23 Jun 2025

Man who used company credit card for himself...

23 Jun 2025

  • Empowering working parents and productivity during the summer holidays SPONSORED | Businesses play a...Read more
  • AI is here. Your workforce should be ready. SPONSORED | From content creation...Read more

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today