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EXPRESS COMMENT

SICK-NOTE CULTURE BRINGS SHAME ON PUBLIC SECTOR

Wednesday August 20,2008

ABSENTEEISM costs Britain £3.8billion each year.

This is a great deal of money but that in itself is not the entire issue.

Significantly it has been found that the sick-note habit is more entrenched among workers in the public sector, according to a new survey.

Are these employees more frail than their opposite numbers in the private sector, more susceptible to colds and flu or to tummy bugs?

The answer has to be no. Therefore the inference must be that there is more malingering in the public sector than in the private and that some of those who toil in services paid for by the taxpayer do not enjoy job satisfaction and as a consequence are not possessed of a strong work ethic.

Or to put it another way, they just don’t care.

The main cause of a sick day among these employees is “stress” which can cover a multitude of ailments, some serious and some completely inconsequential. Public sector staff take (on average) 9.8days every year.

That is virtually two full working weeks.

This is what happens when you encourage a culture of dependency as this Government has done for years. People no longer believe in the value of their own efforts and know they can get by doing the minimum.

If they do not turn up to work they assume there will be someone else to pick up the pieces while their job (plus pension) is assured.

The Olympics have shown what hard work and dedication can achieve. If only we could infect the millions of duvet-day idlers with this particular bug.