The Foreign Office has seen a rise of 51.4 per cent in the amount of sick leave taken by staff from 2022-23 to 2023-24. Out of a total of 30,000 total days missed, 8,400 days were as a result of mental health, a 77.3 per cent increase from the year before. The rise in absence cannot simply be explained by a rising headcount alone which only increased by 500 people.
Investigations campaign manager Joanna Marchong said, "While families up and down the country are working hard and paying their bills, civil servants are increasingly absence for any reason in the book. Ministers must get a grip and ensure that the Foreign Office is run with the same discipline expected in private sector workplaces. It’s unacceptable that civil servants don’t show up."
The full story is available in the Spectator, here.