Civil servants take 1000’s of sick days with no physician’s notice

The TaxPayers’ Alliance strain group stated six departments failed to answer its data request, so the ultimate determine might be increased.

Conor Holohan, its media marketing campaign supervisor, stated: “The number of days lost to sick leave without a note is indefensible.

Taxpayers are fed up with seeing Whitehall bosses give employees such an easy ride, with no proof required that bureaucrats who are off sick actually need to be.

“Mandarins should ensure that the rules are followed and notes are ­provided.” Four departments gave knowledge on days taken off in extra of seven days with no sick notice.

The Ministry of Defence had greater than 90 p.c of the general days misplaced – some 35,065 days taken off past seven days with no notice.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs recorded 1,218 days, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) famous 954 whereas the Cabinet Office had 308.

Other Whitehall departments used exemptions beneath data legal guidelines to stop the discharge of their knowledge by claiming it will take too lengthy to compile, the TaxPayers’ Alliance stated.

There are vital variations in workers totals in several departments. Some 68 per cent of all civil servants work within the 5 largest, or their respective companies.

These are the Ministry of Justice, Department for Work and Pensions, HMRC, the MoD and Home Office. The 5 smallest are the Department for Culture, Media and Sport; Treasury; International Trade; Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, plus the Foreign Office.

Meanwhile, working from house is extra frequent for civil servants than in another sector regardless of a drive to get workers within the workplace, figures counsel.

More than 44 per cent stated their residence was their principal administrative center between January and March.

Ex-Cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg commented: “The Civil Service is not working either at home or in ­­
the office.” He added: “Taxpayers are funding a system that is unproductive and poorly managed.”

Henry Smith, Tory MP for Crawley, stated: “With too many civil servants still working from home well after a year since any Covid restrictions, ­concern must be compounded by reports that widespread sick days are being reported without the statutory doctor’s notes provided. Taxpayers really should expect much better.”

The DHSC stated its coverage states {that a} match notice have to be offered but it surely doesn’t mandate a timeframe for it to be uploaded to the net system.

Delays in staff receiving match notes and managers importing them is also an element within the “snapshot” figures, it added.

The different departments supplying figures had been additionally requested for remark.