Working days lost to illness among Government staff remain at highest on record

The average number of working days lost to illness among Scottish Government staff remains the highest on record, figures show.

Data released by the Government on Thursday shows an average of 8.6 working days lost per member of staff in the year to December.

The figure was unchanged from the previous release in September.

An average of 4.5 days per member of staff were lost to long-term sickness, compared to 4.1 for short-term illness.

In total, 3.8% of all working days were lost in 2024, according to the figures.

The number of directly employed Scottish Government staff also dropped slightly, according to the statistics.

Full-time equivalent (FTE) staff, including those on temporary contracts, dropped from 9,014 in September last year to 8,975, while the headcount of total workers fell from 9,392 to 9,349.

The number of modern apprentices employed within the Scottish Government also dropped to the second lowest level on record with 19 – only the first entry in the records was lower, with 17 logged in March 2012.

A  spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: “The figures demonstrate that the additional measures in place to manage the size of the workforce, including recruitment controls, are effective.

“Since March 2022, the total size of the Scottish Government workforce has reduced by 4%, with headcount down by 182 in the last quarter.

“Sickness levels and the causes of absence continue to be closely monitored with robust policies and practices to support staff when on short and long-term absence.

“The Scottish Government is committed to supporting staff who are absent from work through sickness with a view to facilitating a return to the workplace as soon as possible.”