This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/7413848.stm
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Civil servants take 14 sick days | |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Civil servants in the Department of Social Development are off sick almost four weeks a year on average, according to the public spending watchdog. | Civil servants in the Department of Social Development are off sick almost four weeks a year on average, according to the public spending watchdog. |
| The NI Audit Office said while absence levels had fallen in recent years, it was 40% above the Great Britain figure. | |
| The average sickness absence in the NI civil service is 13.7 days a year compared to 9.3 in the rest of the UK. | |
| Social Development staff are off sick an average of 18.7 days while at Regional Development the figure is 9.2. | Social Development staff are off sick an average of 18.7 days while at Regional Development the figure is 9.2. |
| The big difference between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK was not that civil servants were absent more often, but that they were off for twice as long, with female sickness levels twice those of Great Britain. | |
| The Audit Office said the target to bring absence levels down to 9.5 days was a challenge for departments, but added that more could be done to improve the application of best practice. | The Audit Office said the target to bring absence levels down to 9.5 days was a challenge for departments, but added that more could be done to improve the application of best practice. |
| It said it was "important to encourage a culture of attendance". | It said it was "important to encourage a culture of attendance". |