Fear of losing job keeps sick leave down

FEWER people take time off work for temporary sickness now than they did in 2008.

The Health Department suggests that this may be because people are “more cautious about conserving their jobs”.

In 2008, 3.10 out of every 100 registered workers in the province took time off work for sickness, while last year, the figure had dropped to 1.57 out of every 100.

While in 2011 there were 146,522 temporary incapacities for work, last year, there were 105,583, of which 21,505 were called for an appointment to check that the sick days were justified. Of those, this alone caused 4,688 to return to work, of the rest, 45 per cent were sent back to work following the appointment.