“BURNOUT” driven by public sector recruitment freezes is likely behind surging sickness levels in government, two major unions have said, after the JEP revealed that sickness absences cost taxpayers £17.4 million last year.
According to the States Annual Report and Accounts, a total of 85,964 days were missed due to sickness in 2025, a steep rise from the 2024 total of 75,317.
The number of sick day translated to an average of 9.7 sick days per employee – up from 8.8 the previous year.
Health and Care Jersey employees were found to have taken average of 13.7 days sick per employee, the highest of any government department.
Information contained in the FoI request also reports 12.9 sick days per employee taken in the Employment, Social Security and Housing Department and 11.6 days missed due to absence in Infrastructure and Environment.
Jersey Civil Service Association representative Christopher Hopkins described the statistical increase in employee absence as a point of “concern”.
He said the data should be seen in the context of the government’s ongoing public sector recruitment freeze.
“Due to the employees’ job freeze, certain grades have been basically not recruited for,” he told the JEP.
“We are getting concerned that this level will actually increase, because the people that are still there are having to do more work.
“That – combined with the stress – may be why these figures of ill-health are rising, because people are starting to burn-out.”
He added: “We are being told that the employment level is reducing and this average is increasing year-on-year.
“This of course supports my original view that the less staff, the more pressure [and] stress is put on the remaining staff.
“I represent approximately 1,000 of those staff, and I am aware that the levels of sickness are increasing.
“[It is something that] any of the current candidates for election should consider going forward.”
Mr Hopkins’ analysis was echoed, in part, by Unite the Union representative James Turner.
“85,000 days is higher than expected targets”, he said, noting the typical level of average sick day per employee to be, sector depending, approximately 4-5%.
“It would need exploration into the reasons for absences to apply any reason to the rise”, he cautioned.
“Departments showing higher numbers per employee may have had reductions in headcount, for example, which could mean others have suffered some level of burnout or additional workload which can contribute to higher levels of absence.”
Despite the data lacking “the causation or reason for the absence”, Mr Turner predicted a “sharp rise in mental health absence” because of “stress at work.”
Like Mr Hopkins, he attributed this to a “reduction in head count overall from 2024 to the end of 2025, with a saving reported on this.”
Responding to the FoI data, a spokesperson for the government insisted the increase employee absence was down to a “government-wide campaign” brought in last year to “strengthen the accuracy of sickness absence reporting.”
The campaign – titled “Absence Matters – Let’s Get it Right – is said to have equipped “managers and employees with practical tools and clear guidance” to “manage attendance” and “address absence issues promptly and constructively.”
The statement continues: “In addition, Government has put in place a comprehensive framework to support employee wellbeing and attendance, including access to an occupational health scheme, proactive signposting to support services, a confidential helpline, and staff networks.
“Together, these measures foster a culture of accountability, early support, and inclusion, ensuring colleagues are supported to remain in and return to work wherever possible.”
