The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development surveyed 1,100 employers and found that workers in the public sector took 10.7 days off work sick last year compared with 7.8 days in private firms. The cost of public sector absenteeism to the British economy is £4 billion.



The expense of sickness absence has increased from £67 per worker to £88 during the past year. The public sector employs around 5.5 million people. Overall the number of days lost to illness has risen by 0.1 per cent.



The £4 billion cost to the economy is equivalent to an extra 1p on income tax and another 1p on fuel duty. If the government cut the high sick rates amongst public service workers to the same levels as the private sector, it would save about £1 billion.



Heavy workloads, pressure to meet targets and management styles appear to be the catalyst for stress-related illnesses. The survey also found that illnesses such as colds and flu were the most common cause of sickness absence but most employers said stress was on the increase. Full time workers in the UK work the longest hours in Europe.



Regional differences were also in evidence. Welsh employees were the most likely to call in sick, taking 10.7 day a year, although those in the northwest, West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humberside were not far behind.



Dispelling a few national stereotypes, ‘soft southerners’ are proving more durable than their northern counterparts. The average worker in the capital takes only 6.9 sick days a year – the best attendance rate in the country.



Private sector workers in jobs such as consultancy proved the most likely to go to work regularly. The survey found that they take an average of just 5.5 sick days a year.



The highest absence levels were among workers in the food, drink, tobacco and transport industries (12 days a year), health (11.6 days) and central government (11.6 days). The lowest absence levels were in consultancy (5.5 days), media and publishing (six days) and telecommunications (seven days).



Many organisations have introduced initiatives to manage attendance more effectively. Ben Willmot, the report’s author, said:



“Although it is worrying to see stress-related absence on the increase, it is encouraging that employers are taking action to address this.”



However, Brendan Barber, the general secretary of the TUC, says not enough is being done:



“Bosses are obviously not doing enough to protect workers from the dangers of over-work.”