Civil servants miss ‘alarming’ variety of work days over long-term well being points | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Taxpayers ought to be “alarmed” by the 1.8 million days misplaced to long-term sick go away by the civil service in 2022, MPs have warned.

The variety of days misplaced to long-term sick go away within the civil service has risen by a 3rd previously 4 years, contemporary figures found by means of a parliamentary query by the Liberal Democrats discovered.

Civil service workers misplaced 1.86 million days misplaced to long-term sick go away in 2022, up from 1.39 million in 2018.

Tory MP Greg Smith stated: “These are very concerning figures that should alarm taxpayers and Ministers alike.

“Of course people with genuine long term sickness need the time to recover, but there seems no rational explanation for the substantive rise in long term sickness among the civil service compared to other parts of the public sector and private sector.

“This definitely needs looking into.”

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) misplaced 596,420 days to long-term sick go away, greater than another division.

This was adopted by the Department of Work and Pensions which misplaced 383,320 days to long-term sick go away, adopted by HM Revenue and Customs at 243,040 and the Ministry of Defence at 149,690.

Former Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg stated: “The excessive ranges of illness within the public sector are a reason for concern.

“It seems unlikely that public servants are much less healthy than those in the private sector so there is probably a degree of malingering.”

The MoJ also had the highest overall rate of long-term sick leave compared to the size of the department, with 7.4 days lost per staff year.

This was followed by the Scottish Government (5.9 days per staff year) and Department for Transport (5.9 days per staff year).

The Department Culture Media and Sport had the lowest rate of long-term sickness with just 1.4 days lost per staff year, five times less than the MoJ.

Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office Spokeswoman Christine Jardine said: “These figures are deeply concerning and show there is a growing long-term sickness crisis at the heart of government.

“Ministers need to look into why civil servants are losing so many days to long-term sick leave and whether they are receiving the support they need.

“Conservative ministers need to do more to tackle soaring rates of long-term sick leave in their own departments and across the country.”

The variety of Britons off work due to long-term illness has reached report ranges, figures from final 12 months confirmed.

More than 2.5 million individuals weren’t working due to well being issues, statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) from May confirmed.

There has been a rise in individuals affected by submit viral fatigue, which might be reflecting the impression of lengthy Covid on the inhabitants.

The rise in again and neck issues might be because of house working, the ONS added.

The Cabinet Office has been contacted for a remark.