The average rate of absenteeism on my Department's payroll due to sickness in the 2011/2012 school year was 3.4% among primary teachers and 3.8% among post primary teachers. The Department of Expenditure and Reform monitor trends in sick leave absenteeism across the public sector. The reported absenteeism rates for 2012 in the other sectors range from 2.7% in the Defence sector to 4.8% in the Health Sector, with rates of 4.6% in the Civil Service and 4.7% in the Local Government sector. My Department has put in place an Occupational Health Strategy as a supportive resource for teachers to promote their health in the workplace with a focus primarily on prevention rather than cure. The Occupational Health Strategy comprises of the Employee Assistance Service and Occupational Health Service. The Employee Assistance Service incorporates confidential counselling on issues such as health, relationships, bereavement, stress, conflict, critical incident and trauma. The Occupational Health Service incorporates pre-employment health assessments, sickness absence referrals, medical assessments of fitness for work and ill health retirement assessments.
In accordance with the Public Service Reform Programme new sick leave provisions have been agreed and are currently being implemented across the public service.
