Mental Health Civil Servants 2023-09-07
2023-09-07
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Direct Answer
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Context
The question concerns the amount of sick leave taken by civil servants due to mental health issues, which is a growing concern for public sector employment.
How many days of sick leave due to mental health were taken by civil servants in 2022?
Civil service sickness absence data are published annually. The latest data indicate that an average of 2.3 working days were lost per staff year due to mental ill health for the year ending 31 March 2022.
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Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
The question highlights a significant increase in working days lost due to stress and mental health reasons, raising concerns about genuine need versus abuse of leave.
I understand that nearly three quarters of a million civil service working days were lost due to alleged stress and mental health reasons, and that this figure is 40% up on the year before. Given these circumstances, what steps are the Government taking to ensure only those with genuine mental health conditions receive leave?
There has been a spike in all sickness absence this year, both in private and public sectors, due to comparative data from the pandemic period. The most recent figures show lower sickness absence rates for central Government Departments compared to the private sector. We work with occupational health and employee assistance programs to ensure those unwell get support while aiming to reduce overall numbers of people off for ill health.
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Assessment & feedback
specific verification steps for genuineness of mental health-related leave requests
Work With Occupational Health And Employee Assistance Programs
Response accuracy