Department for Work and Pensions Lost Working Days

Written Question

Government Departments: Sick Leave

Friday 2nd February 2024

Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 8810 on Cabinet Office: Sick Leave, if he will make an estimate of the total number staff days lost to long term sick absences in each Department in each year since 2015.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The tables below provide the estimates requested, long term sick days lost per department (Table 1), along with our preferred measure, Average Working Days Lost (AWDL) per staff year which accounts for workforce size and composition (Table 2). Data is provided for the main Ministerial Departments and excludes those that have been most impacted by Machinery of Government changes, for which times series comparisons between 2015 and 2022 are not possible.

Table 1: Long Term Sickness Absence by Main Department, Days Lost, 2015-2022

	Long Term Sick Days Lost
Department	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Cabinet Office	5,580	6,510	6,400	5,050	10,550	13,250	13,090	20,750
Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities	8,460	9,270	7,840	7,140	6,710	7,310	6,850	7,670
Department Culture Media and Sport	530	1,810	1,490	3,470	3,710	3,630	2,670	4,110
Department for Environment	18,960	16,690	14,890	14,240	15,490	19,880	19,210	27,070
Department for Education	10,940	7,990	7,890	12,370	13,870	13,810	9,580	20,410
Department for Transport	84,920	67,810	64,430	66,560	72,710	70,130	51,950	71,260
Department for Health and Social Care	27,790	26,270	21,140	23,520	24,950	24,300	20,880	27,770
Department for Work and Pensions	261,960	221,470	234,770	239,720	276,110	311,110	243,230	383,320
HM Customers and Revenue	214,960	232,220	225,420	208,810	205,770	233,750	189,360	243,040
HM Treasury	1,500	2,030	2,870	2,150	3,190	3,050	2,770	3,990
Home Office	95,910	103,870	101,740	114,820	119,990	132,200	109,360	148,080
Ministry of Defence	222,240	203,240	197,180	195,440	185,100	219,600	219,380	149,690
Ministry of Justice	442,840	414,460	403,990	372,220	398,510	434,270	435,690	596,420
Scottish Government	83,580	80,990	88,840	97,660	109,990	123,980	111,300	134,510
Welsh Government	23,160	23,980	22,880	22,630	23,840	17,290	14,590	20,110

Table 2 : Long Term Sickness Absence by Main Department, Average Working Days Lost per Staff Year, 2015-2022

	Long Term Average Working Days Lost per Staff Year
Department	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Cabinet Office	1.9	2.2	1.9	1.1	1.7	1.7	1.4	1.9
Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities	3.4	3.8	3.6	3.1	2.4	2.3	2.0	2.0
Department Culture Media and Sport	1.0	1.5	1.4	2.7	2.5	2.1	1.3	1.4
Department for Environment	2.5	2.4	2.2	2.0	1.8	2.1	1.9	2.4
Department for Education	3.2	2.6	2.0	2.2	2.4	2.2	1.3	2.6
Department for Transport	5.3	5.3	4.9	5.0	5.3	5.0	3.6	4.9
Department for Health and Social Care	3.4	3.2	3.2	2.8	3.1	3.0	2.2	2.6
Department for Work and Pensions	3.2	2.9	3.1	3.2	3.7	4.4	3.3	4.5
HM Customers and Revenue	3.6	3.7	3.5	3.3	3.4	3.8	3.2	3.9
HM Treasury	1.2	1.3	1.7	1.1	1.6	1.4	1.1	1.5
Home Office	3.6	3.9	4.0	4.4	4.2	4.2	3.4	4.5
Ministry of Defence	4.4	4.1	4.0	3.9	3.8	4.2	4.1	2.8
Ministry of Justice	6.8	6.4	6.4	5.8	5.7	6.1	6.0	7.4
Scottish Government	5.1	5.0	5.5	5.9	6.4	6.3	5.4	5.9
Welsh Government	4.2	4.5	4.4	4.5	4.7	3.3	2.8	3.7

Notes:

Annual Data for year ending 31 March 20xx
Source – Management Information
Days rounded to nearest 10 days, AWDL rounded to 1 decimal place
Ministerial Departments which have been most impacted by Machinery of Government changes over the period, and for which, consistent comparisons are not possible, are not shown.
For sickness absence publications see https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence

Written Question

Cabinet Office: Sick Leave

Monday 15th January 2024

Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of the total number staff days lost to long term sick absences in each Department in each year since 2021.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office publishes sickness absence data for the Civil Service on an annual basis on gov.uk. Our preferred measure is Average Working Days Lost (AWDL) per staff year which accounts for workforce size and composition. The table below provides the data requested, days lost per department, along with AWDL for context. Data for 2023 are in production for planned publication by end March 2024.

Table: Long Term Sickness Absence by Department 2021 and 2022

Organisation	2021		2022
Organisation	Days	AWDL	Days	AWDL
Attorney General's Departments	5,250	2.2	7,190	2.9
Crown Prosecution Service	18,530	3.1	23,570	3.7
Serious Fraud Office	830	1.8	940	2.0
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy	34,010	2.1	47,160	2.5
Cabinet Office	13,090	1.4	20,750	1.9
National Savings and Investments	370	1.9	170	0.9
Charity Commission	1,300	2.7	s	s
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities	6,850	2.0	7,670	2.0
Competition and Markets Authority	1,100	1.4	870	1.0
Department for Digital, Culture Media and Sport	2,670	1.3	4,110	1.4
Ministry of Defence	219,380	4.1	149,690	2.8
Department for International Trade	3,960	0.8	6,820	1.3
Department for Education	9,580	1.3	20,410	2.6
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs	19,210	1.9	27,070	2.4
ESTYN	410	3.9	320	3.1
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office	16,750	1.9	18,830	2.3
Food Standards Agency	3,850	2.9	4,500	3.4
The Health and Safety Executive	7,440	3.2	10,520	4.2
Department of Health and Social Care	20,880	2.2	27,770	2.6
HM Revenue and Customs	189,360	3.2	243,040	3.9
HM Treasury	2,770	1.1	3,990	1.5
Home Office	109,360	3.4	148,080	4.5
Ministry of Justice	435,690	6.0	596,420	7.4
National Crime Agency	10,640	2.1	15,180	3.3
Northern Ireland Office	140	0.9	420	2.4
Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services & Skills	6,530	3.6	9,270	5.3
Office of Gas and Electricity Markets	2,260	2.1	2,650	2.1
Office of Rail and Road	590	1.9	290	0.9
Scotland Office (incl. Office Advocate General for Scotland)	320	2.8	490	4.2
Scottish Government	111,300	5.4	134,510	5.9
Department for Transport	51,950	3.6	71,260	4.9
United Kingdom Statistics Authority	9,250	2.4	10,070	2.2
UK Export Finance	250	0.7	340	0.8
UK Supreme Court	*	*	280	5.2
Wales Office	230	4.4	190	4.1
Water Services Regulation Authority	570	2.4	250	1.0
Welsh Government	14,590	2.8	20,110	3.7
Department for Work and Pensions	243,230	3.3	383,320	4.5

Notes:

Annual Data for year ending 31 March 2021 and 31 March 2022
Source – Management Information
Days rounded to nearest 10 days, AWDL rounded to 1 decimal place
s = suppressed due to data review, * = suppressed due to low counts
For sickness absence publications see https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence

Written Question

Employment: Menopause

Monday 7th November 2022

Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps his Department has taken to help tackle the number of working days lost due to (a) menopause and (b) perimenopause.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

It is important that those who experience substantial and longer-term menopausal effects should be adequately protected from discrimination in the workplace, and that employers are fully aware of the challenges and their current legal obligations, including under the Equality Act 2010 (the Act).

Depending on circumstances, the Act provides protection from discrimination on grounds of sex and/or age and/or disability for employees experiencing the effects of the menopause.

With women over 50 representing the fastest growing segment of the workforce, there are few workplaces where the menopause is not being experienced by staff.

In July 2021 The Minister for Employment commissioned the roundtable on older workers to look at the menopause and employment. An independent menopause and the workplace report was published and the Government’s response was outlined in July. Alongside this, the Women’s Health Strategy sets out a range of commitments including encouraging employers to implement evidence-based workplace support and introduce workplace menopause policies.

Written Question

Department for Work and Pensions: Lost Working Days

Monday 1st March 2021

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions,what the Average Working Days Lost was for civil servants in her Department who have (a) declared themselves as having a disability and (b) not declared themselves to have a disability in the calendar year (i) 2019 and (ii) 2020.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department only holds information relating to its own staff. Average working days lost figures are calculated on rolling year to date basis, therefore the following data relate to the year to 31 December. Due to the way that data is structured in our systems we do not hold this data in the format requested and it could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

	Dec-20
Disabled	9.16
Non Disabled	5.07
Unknown	5.72

Written Question

Department for Work and Pensions: Lost Working Days

Monday 1st March 2021

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the Average Working Days Lost was for civil servants in her Department (a) aged 30 and younger, (b) 30 to 50, (c) 50 to 60 and (d) over 60 in the calendar year (i) 2019 and (ii) 2020.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

	Dec-19	Dec-20
29 and Younger	8.08	4.85
30 to 49	7.80	5.36
50 to 59	8.11	5.87
60 and Over	9.83	7.17
Other	0.00	0.00

Written Question

Department for Work and Pensions: Lost Working Days

Monday 1st March 2021

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the Average Working Days Lost was for civil servants in her Department (a) from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds and (b) recording themselves as White in the calendar year (a) 2019 and (b) 2020.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Declaration of ethnicity is not mandatory, however as at December 2020, 87.8 per cent of staff have declared their ethnicity.

	Dec-20
Ethnic Minority	5.35
White	5.57
Unknown	6.13

Written Question

Department for Work and Pensions: Lost Working Days

Thursday 25th February 2021

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average number of working days lost (AWDL) was for (a) female and (b) male civil servants in (i) 2019 and (ii) 2020.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

	Female	Male
Dec-19	8.91	6.89
Dec-20	6.24	4.88

Written Question

Treasury: Sick Leave

Wednesday 13th January 2021

Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many working days have been lost to staff sickness in his Department in each month of the last five years, by directorate.

Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade

We do not report on sick days monthly, we do however have a return that we do annually. The number of sick days by directorate in each of the last 5 years can be found in the following tables:

2015/16

Directorate	Sick Days
Business and International Tax	135
Corporate Centre	657
Economics	107
Enterprise & Growth	61
Financial Services	270
Financial Stability	71
Fiscal	103
International	428
IUK	127
Ministerial & Communications	148
National Infrastructure Commission	Fewer than 5
Personal Tax, Welfare & Pensions	207
Public Services	345
Public Spending	227
Strategy, Planning & Budget	68
Treasury Legal Advisors	Fewer than 5
Department	2954

2016/17

Directorate	Sick Days
Business and International Tax	172.5
Corporate Centre	668.5
Economics	102
Enterprise & Growth	76
Financial Services	291
Financial Stability	131.5
Fiscal	68.5
International	318.5
IUK	Fewer than 5
Ministerial & Communications	211
National Infrastructure Commission	27
Personal Tax, Welfare & Pensions	504.5
Public Services	272
Public Spending	190.5
Strategy, Planning & Budget	99
Treasury Legal Advisors	Fewer than 5
Department	3132.5

2017/18

Directorate	Sick Days
Business and International Tax	103
Corporate Centre	595
Economics	119
Enterprise & Growth	133
Financial Services	400
Financial Stability	213.5
Fiscal	250
International	425.5
Ministerial & Communications	347.5
Personal Tax, Welfare & Pensions	178.5
Public Services	190
Public Spending	180.5
Strategy, Planning & Budget	71.5
Treasury Legal Advisors	Fewer than 5
Department	3207

2018/19

Directorate	Sick Days
Business and International Tax	170.5
Corporate Centre	850
Economics	108.5
Enterprise & Growth	116.5
Financial Services	578.5
Financial Stability	135
Fiscal	174.5
International	437.5
Ministerial & Communications	148
Personal Tax, Welfare & Pensions	259
Public Services	268.5
Public Spending	342.5
Strategy, Planning & Budget	50
Department	3639

2019/20

Directorate	Sick Days
Business and International Tax	245
Corporate Centre	906.5
Economics	366
Enterprise & Growth	176.5
Financial Services	490.5
Financial Stability	132.5
Fiscal	241
International	607
Ministerial & Communications	326.5
Personal Tax, Welfare & Pensions	176
Public Services	366
Public Spending	602
Strategy, Planning & Budget	71
Department	4706.5

HM Treasury takes the wellness of its staff seriously. Wellness is incorporated within the Treasury’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing policy. Every quarter, staff complete pulse surveys to assess progress against wellbeing criteria from the annual People Survey. Directors and Deputy Directors take action relating to these results to improve their staff’s wellbeing and stress levels.

HM Treasury has the following support in place for those that are suffering due to stress:

Stress and Mental Health Awareness elearning – learn about stress, what the stressors can be and how to identify and lessen stress
Stress risk assessment used to identify stressors and implement controls to help reduce/eliminate the stress
Workplace Adjustments including flexible working
Stress Management guidance
Tips to help reduce stress
Mental Health First Aiders
Employee Assistance Programme – this is a confidential 24/7 helpline that can offer point people to where
Occupational Health provision
Mental Wellbeing Network
Treasury Supporters, who are employees, trained to help colleagues work through any concerns, however serious whatever their cause
Wellness Action Plans
Time to Talk Workshops
HR Advisers and Health, Safety & Wellbeing Team.

Written Question

Universal Credit

Thursday 30th January 2020

Asked by: Neil Gray (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the five-week wait for a first payment of universal credit on levels of poverty.

Answered by Will Quince

No one has to wait five weeks for their first payment of Universal Credit. New claim advances are available to support those in financial need until their first payment is made. The Department has learnt from where we did not get things right in the past in the legacy benefit system. Too often, the desire to pay quickly meant claimants not receiving their correct entitlement as we did not have an appropriate timeframe to review household circumstances.

Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months. We have announced that from October 2021, the repayment period for these advances will be extended further, to 16 months. Proposed repayments of the advance are explained, and all claimants are advised to request a level of advance which is manageable both now and when considering the repayments required.

The best way to help people improve their lives is through employment. Households where all adults are in work are around 6 times less likely to be in relative poverty than adults in a household where nobody works. This improves further if all the adults are working full time, reducing a child’s risk of being in poverty from 66% for (two-parent) families with only part-time work to 7%. Universal Credit allows households the freedom from the ‘cliff edges’ which featured in the legacy benefits system, where money was lost when working more than 16, 24 or 30 hours.

There are many reasons people use foodbanks and their growth cannot be linked to a single cause. We have listened to feedback on how we can support our Universal Credit claimants and acted quickly, making improvements such as removing waiting days and introducing housing benefit run on. These changes are giving support to vulnerable people who need it most, whilst at the same time helping people get into work faster.

Written Question

Universal Credit

Thursday 30th January 2020

Asked by: Neil Gray (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the five-week wait for a first payment of universal credit on levels of foodbank use.

Answered by Will Quince