There are over five million public sector workers in total across Great Britain, representing about 18 percent of the workforce.
Sickness absence continues to be a significant operational and financial burden on the civil service, with estimated costs of nearly £306 million. Days lost average in 2004/05):
Ministers are taking a close interest in the sickness absence and general well being of public sector workers, because of the link to the public sector delivery/efficiency agendas. This interest has lead to establishing a Ministerial Task Force on health safety and productivity, (MTF) comprising Ministers and officials from Cabinet Office, Treasury, and key targeted departments.
HSE is working closely with the Ministerial Task Force, to engage with and co-ordinate efforts in reducing sickness absence across the public sector. As part of the chancellor’s Spending Review (July 2004) the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions was commissioned to undertake a Review of Sickness Absence Management in the Public Sector [PDF 267kb]. A year after the publication the MTF published the Ministerial Task Force on Health, Safety and Productivity One Year On Report [PDF 173kb]
Similarly HSE has been working with Dept. for Works and Pensions and Department of Health to develop the Health Work and Well – Being Strategy. This is a key driver to improving the health of the working population in the public sector and will make a significant contribution in meeting the PSA targets on reducing working days lost.
The cost of sickness absence has been estimated at £1billion in the NHS, £900million for local authorities and possibly as much as £4billion for the public sector as a whole.
The main causes of injuries across the public sector are: