Executive Summary

  • The headline absence figure for 2024/2025 was 13.4 days (average days lost per staff year), a decrease from 13.8 days in the previous year.

  • The 13.4 days lost per staff year represented 6.1% of the available working days in 2024/2025, a decrease on the 6.3% days lost in 2023/2024. In salary terms, this equated to an estimated £48.8 million in direct salary cost - equivalent to 3.8% of the total NICS pay bill in 2024/2025. This is an increase of £4.8 million on estimated direct salary cost in the previous year.

  • 57.6% of staff had no recorded sick absence in 2024/2025 - an increase from 56.9% in 2023/2024.

  • The level of absence within Departments varied from 8.7 days for the Executive Office (TEO) to 18.3 days for the Department of Justice (DoJ), with the majority of Departments recording lower absence levels compared to 2023/2024.

  • The absence level for females (14.8 days) remained higher than that for males (12.1 days) with less than one fifth of this difference being due to pregnancy specific conditions [Note 1].

  • Staff who had been in post for under two years had a much lower level of sickness absence (7.4 days) than staff who had been employed for two years or more (14.0 days).

  • Over one in every eight staff (13.7%) had at least one spell of long-term absence - these spells lasted around three months on average. This accounted for over three quarters (81.7%) of all working days.

  • Anxiety/Stress/Depression/Other Psychiatric Illnesses was the absence reason that accounted for the greatest proportion of working days lost (41.6%) during 2024/2025. Within this category, work-related stress accounted for 32.2% of the days lost.

  • COVID-19 (Coronavirus) accounted for 0.1 working days lost per staff year in 2024/2025, which was the equivalent of 1.0% of all sickness absence days in the NICS for the period.

Key Facts

[Note 2]

1. Working Days Lost through Sickness Absence

Average Days Lost to Sickness 13.4 Working Days % Days Lost to Sickness 6.1% of Working Days Estimated Direct Salary Cost £48.8 million

Absence levels vary by Department, grade level, sex, age group, and the length of service of staff. This chapter contains a look at trends across these variables over the last five years as well as comparative information from other public and private sector bodies. Supporting information can be found in 1.2 Further information relating to working days lost within Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables.

1.1 Introduction

Staff in the NICS lost an average of 13.4 days to sickness absence in 2024/2025 - a decrease from the previous year when staff lost 13.8 days.

In total, 6.1% of all available working days were lost due to sickness absence, equating to an estimated £48.8 million in direct salary cost, equivalent to around 3.8% of the total NICS pay bill. This is a decrease on the previous year when 6.3% of available working days were lost at an estimated cost of £44.0 million.

Two of the main measures of sickness absence - working days lost per staff year and the percentage of available working days lost were lower than the previous year. Looking at longer trends, Figure 1 below shows that during the mid 2000s around 13.4 to 14.2 days were lost on average per staff year. This then dropped over subsequent years until 2011/2012 when it reached a low of 10.1 days. In the 13 years since then the absence level has generally increased (with the exception of 2020/2021). Absence figures then returned to around prepandemic levels in 2021/2022 and continued to rise to 2023/2024. However in 2024/2025 sickness absence levels decreased for the first time since 2020/2021.

Figure 1: Working Days Lost per Staff Year in NICS (2004/2005 to 2024/2025) [Note 3] - Download Tables

Staff who either retire early on medical grounds or are dismissed because of inefficiency due to excessive sickness absence are entitled to receive up to 13 weeks’ notice. In line with Cabinet Office guidelines, any sickness absences during this notice period are included in the overall statistics. It is estimated that these absences added around 0.4 of a day to the overall absence level. If they were excluded, the headline figure of 13.4 days would reduce to 13.0 days.

1.2 Department

The average number of working days lost due to sickness absence in 2024/2025 ranged from 8.7 days for Executive Office (TEO) to 18.3 days for the Department of Justice (DoJ), as shown below in Figure 2.

The majority of departments saw a drop in their absence levels from last year, with the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) experiencing the greatest decrease.

DfC was the biggest contributor to the overall working days lost however DfI had the biggest impact on the overall decrease in absence level. Within DfI three grade levels experienced a drop, with staff in the Industrial grade level having the biggest impact on this decrease. To view each Department’s contribution to the overall absence level, see Table 7.1 in Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables.

Figure 2: Working Days Lost per Staff Year by Department (2020/2021 to 2024/2025) [Note 4] - Download Tables

Chart

Departmental staffing profiles can have a major influence on relative absence levels. This needs to be considered when making Departmental comparisons. More appropriate like-for-like comparisons can be obtained Table 6.1 in Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables which provides Departmental absence figures standardised to the age, grade and sex profile of the NICS as a whole in order to eliminate the impact of staffing factors. In the majority of Departments, standardised absence levels are lower than their unadjusted figure. DoJ’s figures showed the greatest reduction, falling from 18.3 to 13.0 days lost through sickness absence.

Table

Departmental staffing profiles can have a major influence on relative absence levels. This needs to be considered when making Departmental comparisons. More appropriate like-for-like comparisons can be obtained in Table 6.1 Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables which provides Departmental absence figures standardised to the age, grade and sex profile of the NICS as a whole in order to eliminate the impact of staffing factors. In the majority of Departments, standardised absence levels are lower than their unadjusted figure. DoJ’s figures showed the greatest reduction, falling from 18.3 to 13.0 days lost through sickness absence.

1.3 Grade Level

Within this report, non-industrial staff are separated into analogous grade levels, while Industrial and Prison Grade staff are reported separately.

There is notable variation in absence levels across grade levels, although a general trend of decreasing levels of absence as grade level increases can be observed. As shown in Figure 3, the average number of working days lost in 2024/2025 ranged from 4.3 days for staff at Grade 5+ level to 25.9 days for Industrial staff.

The majority of grade levels reported a drop compared with 2023/2024, with Industrial staff experiencing the largest decrease.

The AO and EOII levels encompassed the largest number of staff - each representing 19.8% of the NICS. However staff at Industrial level had the biggest impact on the decrease in the overall NICS absence level in 2024/2025. For detailed information on each grade level’s contribution to the overall NICS absence level, see Table 7.2 in Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables.

Figure 3: Working Days Lost per Staff Year by Analogous Grade Level (2020/2021 to 2024/2025) [Note 5] - Download Tables

Chart
Table

1.4 Sex

Figure 4 shows the absence level decreased for males and remained the same for females in 2024/2025, with males experiencing an average of 12.1 days and females an average of 14.8 days.

Female staff have historically had a higher level of absence than males, with a difference of around 2 to 3 days observed in recent years. There are also other factors to take into account when comparing the difference between males and females.

The largest cause of the difference was Pregnancy Related Disorders. If this cause was excluded, the adjusted absence level for females fell from 14.8 days to 14.3 days. If all gender-specific absences [Note 6] were excluded from the absence figures the difference between male and female absence would fall to 1.3 days (13.3 days for females and 12.0 days for males).

To view the contribution of each sex to the overall NICS absence level, see Table 7.3 in Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables.

Figure 4: Working Days Lost per Staff Year by Sex [Note 1] (2020/2021 to 2024/2025) - Download Tables

Chart
Table

1.5 Length of Service

Staff with less than two years’ service in NICS lost an average of 7.4 days through sickness absence in 2024/2025. This was approximately seven days less than the average number of days lost (14.0 days) by staff with more than two years of service, as shown in Table 1.

The lower level of sickness absence among new staff was a likely consequence of the one year probationary period each staff member undergoes immediately after joining NICS. The probation regime includes more stringent conditions concerning the management of sickness absence compared to those not on probation. For probationary staff, each absence spell leads to a review and the consideration of potential inefficiency action.

Table 1: Working Days Lost per Staff Year by Length of Service (2020/2021 to 2024/2025) - Download Tables

1.6 Age Group

Figure 5 shows the average number of working days lost ranged from 7.5 days for staff aged 16-24 to 16.7 days for staff aged 55+. It should be noted, however, that the youngest age group (16-24) accounted for only 1.7% of NICS staff.

The majority of age groups experienced a decrease in absence levels, with staff in the 25-34 age group experiencing the largest decrease. To see the age comparisons in greater detail, see Table 2.2.4 in Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables.

Figure 5: Working Days Lost per Staff Year by Age Group (2020/2021 to 2024/2025) - Download Tables

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Table

1.7 Comparison with other Organisations

Care should be taken when making comparisons with sickness absence figures produced by other organisations. Methods of data collection/reporting is likely to vary among organisations and some may not be as robust as others.

For instance, some organisations report on a “per person/employee” method while the NICS reports on a “per staff year” basis, as per Cabinet Office guidelines, which methodologically tends to return a higher figure.

Typically the number of staff years will be less than the headcount of staff as it takes part-time staff into account. An organisation’s Working Days Lost per Staff Year figure will therefore tend to be higher than their Working Days Lost per Person figure. The magnitude of this difference will depend on the proportion of part-time staff and the level of staff turnover in the organisation.

Comparison with other Civil Service Sickness Absence Statistics/Local Councils (2016/2017 to 2024/2025)

Each public sector organisation listed below in Figure 6 varies in how they report sickness absence statistics. Similar to the NICS, the Home Civil Service, Scottish Government and Welsh Government report on a per Staff Year basis although other steps in the recording differ from that of the NICS. Without detailed, published methodologies from these organisations it is not possible to assess comparability of these figures to the NICS. NI Local Councils report on a per employee basis. The Republic of Ireland Civil Service previously reported absence on a per full-time equivalent basis.

Figure 6 shows the average working days lost per staff year increased from 2023/2024 to 2024/2025 for the Scottish Government. There were no 2024/2025 sickness absence statistics available for the other areas at the time of publication. This publication will be updated when the 2024/2025 data becomes available. The Republic of Ireland Civil Service ceased publishing sickness absence statistics in 2020. For more detailed information and links to each organisations sickness absence statistics, see Appendix 3.

Figure 6: Average Working Days Lost per Staff Year in UK/RoI Civil Service and Local Councils (2016/2017 to 2024/2025) [Note 7], [Note 8] - Download Tables

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Table

Comparison with the Private Sector

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) commission a survey each year that reports on levels of sickness absence across the various UK labour market sectors. Due to Covid-19 related complications, CIPD were unable to report reliable sickness absence rates in 2021 and 2022, however normal reporting resumed in 2023.

As their figures are normally based on survey returns they can be affected by response bias. For example, firms with solid methods of data collection and more robust/acceptable figures to report may be the ones most likely to send in their figures.

The NICS Working Days Lost per Employee figure (as opposed to per Staff Year) has been included below to provide a more direct comparison with CIPD figures. Table 2 shows that the NICS figure was 12.2 days in 2024/2025. However it is again worth noting care should be taken when comparing these figures due to differing methods of data collection/reporting.

For more detailed information and links to each organisations sickness absence statistics, see Appendix 3.

Table 2: CIPD Average Working Days Lost per Employee (2018 to 2025) [Note 7], [Note 9] [Note 10] - Download Tables

2. Spells of Sickness Absence

57.6% of staff had no sickness absence 58.4% of absence spells lasted five working days or less 90.0% of working days lost were covered by a medical certificate

This chapter looks at the number and duration of sickness absence spells and how they were certified. Supporting information can be found in 2.2 Further information relating to the number and duration of sickness absence spells within Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables.

2.1 Number of Absence Spells

Figure 7 shows that in 2024/2025, 57.6% of all staff had no spells of sickness absence - an increase from the previous year when 56.9% of staff had none. One spell of absence was recorded for 31.1% of staff, 8.6% had two spells, while the remaining 2.7% of staff were absent on three or more occasions.

The proportion of staff with no absence varied markedly between Departments from 49.8% in DoJ to 67.8% in DE (see Table 2.2.10 in Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables).

Figure 7: Number of Absence Spells - Download Tables

2.2 Combined Working Days Lost

Figure 8 shows that 18.3% of staff were absent for between one and five days in total during 2024/2025. Meanwhile, the percentage of staff who were absent for a total of more than 20 days during the year was 14.4% - a decrease on last year’s figure of 14.7% (see Table 2.2.8 in Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables).

Figure 8: Combined Working Days Lost - Download Tables

2.3 Duration of Absence Spells

Around 14,900 sickness absence spells were recorded in 2024/2025, approximately 400 more than in the previous year. Figure 9 shows that 58.4% of spells were relatively short - lasting five working days or less. Such absences, however, only accounted for 8.7% of the total working days lost to sickness absence. In total, short-term absences (those lasting 20 working days or less) accounted for 75.0% of all spells.

Figure 9: Duration of Absence Spells - Download Tables

Long-term absences (those lasting more than 20 days) made up the vast majority of all working days lost. Although they represented only 25.0% of spells, they accounted for 81.7% of all working days lost, as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 10: Number of Spells by Duration - Short-term Absences - Download Tables

Figure 10 shows approximately 2,000 spells of absence lasted for three working days - the most frequent duration of all absences.

Short-term absence spells were predominately due to Cold, Cough, Flu, Influenza (30.7%) or Gastrointestinal Problems (19.9%) as shown in Figure 11. It is worth noting that any sickness absences due to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) are categorised under Chest and Respiratory problems. For specific analysis of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) absences see section 3.5.

An analysis of long-term absences can be found in Chapter 4.

Figure 11: Short-Term Absences - % of Spells by Reason - Download Tables

2.4 Absence Certification

All NICS staff are required to have their spells of sickness absence certified. For absences of seven calendar days or less staff are able to self-certify whereas, for longer absences, a Medical Certificate from a medical practitioner or hospital is required. Given the short duration of many absences, it is not surprising that the majority (51.3%) of spells were self-certified with medically certified absences making up a further 41.3% of the total.

Absences which were uncertified or missing a certification have been classified here as ‘other’ and accounted for 7.4% of absence spells.

As would be expected, self-certified absences did not last as long as certified absences. On average, self-certified absences lasted 3.1 working days while certified absences lasted 44.4 working days (see Table 2.2.1 in Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables).

The majority of working days lost were certified by a doctor or hospital. Absences certified in this manner accounted for 90.0% of the total working days lost, equating to 12.1 days lost per staff year or 5.5% of the available working days (see Table 1.2.3 in Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables). Self-certified absences accounted for a further 7.9% of the working days lost while ‘other’ absences made up the remaining 2.1%, as shown in Figure 12 and 13.

Further information about absence certification (including a Departmental breakdown) is available in Tables 2.2.1 to 2.2.4 in Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables.

Figure 12: % of Absence Spells by Certification - Download Tables

Figure 13: % of Working Days Lost by Certification - Download Tables

3. Reason for Sickness Absence

The main reason for absence was Anxiety/Stress/Depression/Other Psychiatric Illnesses accounting for 41.6% of working days lost.

This chapter looks at the reasons for sickness absence. More analyses are presented in 3.2 Further information relating to reasons for sickness absence including Covid-19 further analysis within Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables. [Note 2]

3.1 NICS Overall

Absences recorded as Cold, Cough, Flu, Influenza, Anxiety/Stress/Depression/Other Psychiatric Illnesses and Gastrointestinal Problems accounted for 57.4% of all absence spells in 2024/2025.

As in previous years, Anxiety/Stress/Depression/Other Psychiatric Illnesses remained the reason behind the highest proportion of working days lost. Figure 14 shows this reason accounted for 41.6% of the total working days lost while 32.2% of the working days lost within this illness category were recorded as work-related stress (see Table 3.2.4 in Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables). To view each absence type’s contribution to the overall NICS absence level, see Table 7.5 in Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables.

Sickness absences due to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) are categorised under Chest and Respiratory Problems throughout these analyses. For specific analysis of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) absences see section 3.5.

Figure 14: Reason for Absence [Note 11], [Note 12] - Download Tables

The average duration of an absence is linked to the nature and severity of the illness involved.

Absences caused by Benign and Malignant Tumours, Cancers had the longest average duration at 68.2 working days, as shown in Table 3. These absences, however, were quite rare and only accounted for 1.1% of absence spells. By contrast, absences due to Anxiety/Stress/Depression/Other Psychiatric Illnesses not only had the second highest average duration (47.7 working days) but also accounted for 17.8% of spells.

At the other end of the scale, absences due to Cold, Cough, Flu, Influenza had the second shortest average duration at 4.4 days. For a detailed breakdown of absence reason by spells, see Table 3.2.2 in Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables.

Table 3: Average Duration of Absence by Reason [Note 12], [Note 13] - Download Tables

The following three tables show the percentage of total working days lost by grade level, sex and age group. Shading denotes the reason for the largest proportion of working days lost for each subgroup.

3.2 Grade Level

Anxiety/Stress/Depression/Other Psychiatric illnesses accounted for the highest percentage of working days lost at all grade levels, as shown in Table 4. G7+, SO, EOI and AA staff experienced an increase in the proportion of working days lost to this reason compared with 2023/2024. All other grades experienced a decrease. Prison Grade staff experienced the most notable decrease, which saw the proportion decrease from 45.6% to 35.6%.

Prison Grade and Industrial staff had a noticeably higher proportion of working days lost to Injury, Fracture than staff in other grade levels, while Industrial staff also experienced a high level of Back Problems and Other Musculoskeletal Problems. This situation is likely to reflect the type of work undertaken by these grades.

Table 4: Reason for Absence by Grade Level - % of Working Days Lost [Note 12] - Download Tables

3.3 Sex

As has been the case for 16 years Anxiety/Stress/Depression/Other Psychiatric Illnesses was the reason behind the highest percentage of working days lost for both males and females.

The second highest reason for males was Injury, Fracture accounting for 11.2% of their working days lost. Other Known Causes - Not Elsewhere Classified was the second highest reason for females, accounting for 6.1% of their working days lost.

Table 5: Reason for Absence by Sex - % of Working Days Lost [Note 12] - Download Tables

3.4 Age Group

Anxiety/Stress/Depression/Other Psychiatric Illnesses accounted for the highest percentage of working days lost for all age groups, as shown in Table 6.

Of the other absence reasons to exceed 10% of working days lost in any age group the highest was Other Known Causes - Not Elsewhere Classified among the 16-24 group (which accounted for 14.6% of their working days lost).

Table 6: Reason for Absence by Age Group - % of Working Days Lost [Note 12] - Download Tables

3.5 Sickness Absence due to COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

In the 2024/2025 reporting year there were 430 spells of COVID-19 in the NICS, amounting to 3,081 working days. This equated to 0.1 working days lost per staff year or 0.1% of all available working days. COVID-19 represented 1.0% of all sickness absence days that occurred in 2024/2025.

Figure 15 shows that across Departments the level of absence ranged from 0.1 working days per staff year in The Department for the Economy (DfE) to 0.2 days in the Executive Office (TEO). This equated to 2.8% of all sickness absence days in TEO and 0.1% of all available days. For further information on COVID-19 absences by Department see Table 3.2.7 in the Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables.

Figure 15: Working Days Lost per Staff Year by Department due to COVID-19 - Download Tables

AO, Industrial and SO staff had the highest level of COVID-19 sickness absence with 0.2 working days lost per staff year. More information on the COVID-19 absences by Grade Level can be found in Table 3.2.8 in the Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables.

Males and Females experienced similar levels of COVID-19 sickness absence, accounting for 1.2% of all Male absence in 2024/2025 and 0.9% of all Female absence (see Table 3.2.9 in the Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables).

Across different Age Groups those aged 45-54 had the highest level of COVID-19 absence with 0.2 days per staff year (see Table 3.2.10 in the Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables).

4. Long-term Sickness Absence

13.7% of staff had at least one long-term absence 81.7% of total working days lost were long-term absences A long-term average duration of 66.5 working days

A long-term absence is defined as any spell of absence that lasted more than 20 consecutive working days during the financial year. Additional information can be found in 4.2 Further information relating to long-term sickness absence within Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables.

4.1 Prevalence of Long-term Absence

In 2024/2025, over one in eight staff (13.7%) had a long-term absence, as shown in Table 7; this is a lower proportion of staff with a long-term absence than the previous year (14.0%).

These 3,543 staff each had at least one absence spell that lasted anywhere from more than one month to the full year (see Figure 16). The average length of these 3,728 spells was around three calendar months (66.5 working days [Note 14]).

Long-term absences accounted for 81.7% of all working days lost, which was a decrease on the proportion recorded in 2023/2024. This level of long-term absence would, by way of illustration, be equivalent to the loss of around 1,132 full-time staff for an entire year.

Meanwhile, the Frequency Rate - the number of long-term spells per employee - decreased from 14.7% to 14.4%.

Table 7: Number of Long-term Absence Spells - Download Tables

Figure 16: Number of Spells by Duration - Long-term Absences (more than 20 working days) [Note 15] - Download Tables

Although only 14.9% of all sickness absence spells lasted longer than two months (41 working days), the working days lost from these absences accounted for 67.1% of the total working days lost.

4.2 Grade Level

Figure 17 shows Prison Grade staff had the highest incidence of long-term sickness absence - with over a quarter (28.0%) of staff having a long-term absence spell in 2024/2025. This was similar to the 2023/2024 figure of 27.9%. The majority of grade levels experienced a decrease in incidences of long-term sickness absence spells.

The average long-term duration of Prison Grade absences was 65.9 working days, which was slightly lower than the overall NICS average (66.5 working days). In total, 84.4% of all working days lost by Prison Grade staff were due to long-term absences – however, Industrial staff had the highest percentage (88.0%) of any grade level in this category (see Table 4.2.2 in the Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables).

In the non-industrial grades, the incidence of long-term absence tended to decrease as grade level increased. For example, 13.9% of the AO grade staff had a long-term absence compared with 3.5% of G5+ staff.

Figure 17: One or More Long-term Absence by Grade Level - Download Tables

4.3 Sex

Even after absences due to Pregnancy Related Disorders were excluded females still had a higher incidence of long-term absence (14.3%) than males (12.4%) as shown in Figure 18.

On the other hand, the average duration of their long-term absences (65.2 days) was shorter than those of males (68.1 days).

For further information, see Table 4.2.3 in the Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables.

Figure 18: One or More Long-term Absence by Sex [Note 1] - Download Tables

4.4 Age Group

As shown in Figure 19, a general trend of incidences of long-term absences increasing with age group can be observed. Similarly, excluding the 16-24 age group, the average duration of the long-term absences increased with age (see Table 4.2.4 in the Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables). It should be noted here that the youngest age group (16-24) accounted for only 1.7% of NICS staff.

Figure 19: One or More Long-term Absence by Age Group - Download Tables

4.5 Reason for Long-term Absence

Anxiety/Stress/Depression/Other Psychiatric Illnesses accounted for the largest proportion of long-term absences in terms of both the spells ( 45.4%) and the working days lost (47.4%).

The second highest reason was Injury, Fracture, which accounted for 8.7% of the long-term working days lost and 9.7% of the long-term absence spells, as shown in Table 8.

Table 8: Reason for Long-term Absence [Note 16], [Note 17] (% of Long-term Working Days Lost and Long-term Spells) - Download Tables

4.6 Long-term Frequency

DoJ had the highest frequency of long-term absences in 2024/2025 at 20.9%, which was similar to the previous year’s figure of 20.8%. TEO had the lowest frequency at 10.3%, as shown in Table 9.

The majority of Departments reported a decrease in their long-term frequency rate, with DfC experiencing the greatest drop, as the frequency rate decreased from 14.9% to 13.5%.

Table 9: Long-term Frequency by Department (2020/2021 to 2024/2025) - Download Tables

4.7 Long-term Duration

[Note 13]

In 2024/2025, Department for Infrastructure (DfI) had the longest average duration of long-term absence spells at 72.1 working days while the shortest average was 53.2 working days in DoH. Eight Departments showed a decrease in average duration compared with 2023/2024; with only DoF and DE reporting an increase as shown in Table 10.

The most notable fluctuation was in DoH, where the average duration decreased by 11.5 days to 53.2 days.Overall the long-term duration of absence spells in the NICS decreased by 2.4 days.

Table 10: Long-term Duration by Department (2020/2021 to 2024/2025) - Download Tables

5. Absence Insight

5.2 Key Indicators

Average Duration of Sickness Absence

As shown in Figure 21, since 2016/17 Industrial and Prison grades have consistently experienced longer average durations of sickness absence in comparison with NICS overall. Since 2020/21 the average duration of sickness absence for Industrial staff has been longer than that experienced before the pandemic reaching 44.4 days in 2023/24. During 2023/24 there was an increase in the duration of absence due to Mental Health [Note 18] Illnesses for Industrial staff with an average duration of 90.0 days which was 40.4 days longer than the NICS average for Mental Health Illnesses.

Mental Health [Note 18] Illness remains the highest contributor to the total working days lost for Industrial grades, accounting for just over one third (33.6%) of all working days lost in 2024/25. The second highest contributor was Injury, Fracture which accounted for 18.5% of all working days lost.

Interestingly trends for Prison grade staff have not followed the same pattern and have experienced a decrease in the average duration of sickness absences since 2020/21, reaching a low of 21.1 days in 2022/23. The gap between prison grade staff and NICS overall has also decreased from 12.7 days in 2016/17 to 4.3 days in 2024/25.

Figure 21: Average Duration of Sickness Absence by Grade

Percentage of staff with at least one sickness absence

Before the Covid 19 pandemic prison grade staff had a similar percentage of staff with at least one sickness absence as the NICS overall. As shown in Figure 22 Prison grades experienced a small decrease in the percentage of staff with at least one sickness absence in 2020/21, however this was not on the same scale as the NICS overall. After 2020/21 the percentage of Prison grade staff with at least one sickness absence increased, reaching a peak of 69% in 2022/23. The percentage of prison grade staff with a Mental Health [Note 18] sickness absence was 15.8% in both 2021/22 and 2022/23. This was 7.1 (2021/22) and 7.5 (2022/23) percentage points higher than the NICS average. After the 2022/23 peak the percentage of staff with at least one sickness absence decreased.

In 2024/25 prison grades still have a highest percentage of staff with at least one sickness absence (59.9%), 17.5 percentage points higher than the NICS overall. Mental Health [Note 18] Illness remains the highest contributor to the total working days lost for Prison grades which accounted for over one third (35.6%) of all working days lost. The second highest contributor was Injury, Fracture which accounted for over one fifth (22.5%) of total working days lost for Prison grade staff.

Industrial staff historically had a lower percentage of staff with at least one sickness absence compared to NICS overall. However, since 2020/21 this has reversed, and Industrial staff now have a higher percentage of staff with at least one sickness absence compared to NICS overall. Although not as high as prison grade staff, Industrial staff remains 7.4 percentage points higher than the NICS overall.

Figure 22: Percentage of staff with at least one sickness absence

Before the Covid-19 pandemic (2016/17 – 2019/20) Industrial grade staff accounted for approximately 3.8% of the total NICS workforce, on average contributing 5.2% of the total working lost within the NICS. Post covid (2021/22 – 2024/25) Industrial Grade staff accounted for only 3% of the NICS workforce contributing on average 6.4% of the total working days lost.

Prison grade staff accounted for a similar percentage of the NICS workforce before and after Covid-19 (6.0% and 5.9%). However, before Covid-19 they contributed on average 9.4% of total working days lost, post Covid-19 this increased to 12.3%.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Calculations

Absence levels are presented in a number of ways throughout the report and are defined as follows:

% of Available Working Days Lost = Number of Working Days Lost x 100 Number of Available Working Days Working Days Lost per Staff Year = Number of Working Days Lost Number of Staff Years Spells per Staff Year = Number of Absence Spells Number of Staff Years

The “Working days lost per staff year” approach was recommended by the Cabinet Office in the review “Managing Attendance in the Public Sector (1998)”. This approach replaced ‘working days lost per person’ which does not always permit valid comparisons to be made between or within organisations that differ in their proportions of part-time staff and/or their levels of staff turnover. In particular, it can misrepresent the absence rate in organisations that have a high proportion of part-time staff and/or high levels of staff turnover. For the majority of people, a staff year is approximately 220 working days, but clearly this depends on date of entry and/or date of leaving, and annual leave entitlement which varies by grade, length of service, and work pattern. For each individual a ‘staff year’ was therefore calculated taking all of these factors into account. The following simple example highlights the rationale for the methodology used by the Cabinet Office.

Example

A. Worked Full-time all year (hence 1 staff year), and
B. Worked Full-time for half year (hence ½ staff year)

If A was absent for 20 working days and B was absent for 10 working days, then the number of working days lost per staff year are calculated as follows:

Total Number of working days lost = 30 Total Number of Staff Years = 1 + 0.5 = 1.5 Working Days Lost per Staff Year = 30 1.5 = 20

According to the other approach, the number of days lost per person would be:

Total Number of working days lost = 30 Total Number of People = 2 Working Days Lost per Person = 30 2 = 15

which overlooks the fact that one of the staff was only employed for six months.

Appendix 2: Definitions

Available Working Days - Any day on which a member of staff would have been expected to attend work. Annual, Maternity and Term Time leave is excluded from the total. Leaving, joining and full-time equivalent value are taken into account.

Combined Working Days Lost - the total number of working days lost for an individual, counted across all their absence spells, during the financial year.

Estimated Direct Salary Cost (£) - is calculated, where possible, on the basis of each individual’s actual salary and the associated employer’s National Insurance and Superannuation contributions. It does not consider any associated costs such as for overtime and replacement staff. The estimated Direct Salary Cost for 2024/25 takes into account the 2023 and 2024 pay awards.

Frequency Rate - the average number of long-term spells per employee, expressed as a percentage. (No. of spells of long-term absence in the period/ No. of employees) x 100

One staff year is the equivalent to one full-time member of staff being in work for a full year. “Per staff year” takes account of staff working part-time and those who have not worked for the entire year i.e. leavers and new entrants during the reporting period. Staff year differs from full-time equivalent (FTE) which only takes account of part-time working.

Percentage of Available Working Days Lost (%) - The percentage of available working days that are lost due to sickness absence. (Number of Working Days Lost / Number of Available Working Days) x 100

Spells - A spell is any occasion of sickness absence with a defined onset and termination. An individual may have multiple spells of sickness absence within an analysed time period. It is important to note the distinction between working days lost and spells. For instance, if one employee has one spell of absence lasting six days and another employee has three spells of absence each lasting two days, both employees have lost six days to sickness absence with differing spells.

Working Days Lost - Any day on which a member of staff would have been expected to attend work but were absent due to sickness.

Appendix 4: List of Abbreviations

Appendix 5: Business Area Analysis

Table 11: Business Area Analysis - Download Tables

This table can also be found in the Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service - Excel Tables (Table 9.1).

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These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by OSR in April 2019 in the Assessment of Statistics on Sickness Absence in the Northern Ireland Civil Service with accreditation confirmed in August 2019. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice and should be labelled National Statistics (or ‘accredited official statistics’). Our Statistics Charter provides further details of how we apply the principles and practices of the Code in the production and publication of our official statistics. Our Background Quality Report highlights areas that we are working to improve.

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Notes

Note 1:

Female Adjusted data excludes absences due to Pregnancy Related Disorders.

Note 2:

Between 4 November 2021 and 17 July 2022, the first 10 calendar days of an absence attributed to COVID-19 was recorded as paid special leave on HRConnect, and not as a sickness absence. Between 18 July 2022 and 9 October 2022, this was reduced to the first 5 calendar days. From 10 October 2022, an absence attributed to COVID-19 was recorded as sickness absence. Subsequently caution should be taken when reading trend information.

Note 3:

There was a new HR System and recording process introduced in 2008/09. Data for DoJ, PPS and Industrial staff were included from 2010/11 onwards.

Note 4:

Staff in HSENI and OAGNI are included in the NICS Overall figure only.

Note 5:

Figures are reported at substantive grade unless staff are Temporary Promoted to a higher grade.

Note 6:

Absences due to Pregnancy Related Disorders, gender-specific Genitourinary and Gynaecological Disorders and gender-specific Benign and Malignant Tumours, Cancers.

Note 7:

“NA”: No figures published/available.

Note 8:

RoI Civil Service figures are for calendar years from 2013 to 2020. RoI Civil Service ceased publishing sickness absence statistics in 2020

Note 9:

CIPD figures are based on an annual survey with between 443 (2018) and 305 (2025) responses. The figures also exclude the top and bottom 5% of responses and are reported on a “per employee” basis – a methodology that tends to report a lower level of absence than a “per Staff Year” approach. The figures reported by CIPD for 2025 relate to their survey undertaken in March/April 2025.

Note 10:

NICS - Per Employee Adjusted figures are based on financial year: 2025 refers to financial year 2024/2025

Note 11:

The category ‘Other’ contains any absence with a reason that accounted for less than 1% of the working days lost.

Note 12:

The category ‘No Reason Specified’ contains any absence for which the reason was ‘Not Specified’, ‘Awaiting Reason’ or missing.

Note 13:

The analysis only takes account of the working days lost by each absence during the specific financial year.

Note 14:

The figure of 66.5 working days is the mean duration. The median (the middle value of all the long-term absence durations) is 50.0 working days, which equates to 2.5 months. These figures take account of the days lost during the specific financial year only. For example, the average duration increases to 76.5 working days lost (approximately 3.5 months) for all long-term absences which ended during 2024/2025 (including those that started the preceding year).

Note 15:

The increase to the far right of Figure 16 relates to 55 spells of absence lasting a standard working year. Some Civil Service occupations are contracted more than a 37 hour standard working week which results in the outliers beyond this.

Note 16:

The category ‘Other’ contains any absence with a reason that accounted for less than 1% of the long-term working days lost.

Note 17:

The category ‘No Reason Specified’ contains any long-term absence for which the reason was ‘Not Specified’, ‘Awaiting Reason’ or missing.

Note 18:

“Mental Health” refers to the sickness absence category Anxiety/Stress/Depression/Other Psychiatric Illnesses.

Note 19:

Please note all figures contained within this report are obtained from the WSA Financial Sickness Absence database.

Note 20:

The data in this report are displayed to 1 decimal place; as such, the user should note that the totals may not match due to rounding of figures.

Contact Details

Published by: Workforce Statistics & Analysis, People & Organisational Development

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Email: Workforcestatisticsandanalysis@finance-ni.gov.uk

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