Delighted to be quoted in the recent Irish News’s article – incredible situation in Northern Ireland where the public sector bodies are struggling to deliver basic services because of staff sickness and these statistics were pre pandemic ! As the article’s headline says “Our workforce was sick long before this pandemic.” The level of sickness in the Northern Ireland Civil Service costs £32.9m, the Northern Ireland prison service sick bill was £3m and the Northern Ireland Councils have the highest sick leave levels in the UK. In the aftermath of the Pandemic it will be clear that governments can’t fight this battle on their own, they will need business to step forward and lead here too but as the article’s author Claire Aiken says she doesn’t just expect business to do it for altruistic reasons but also out of self-interest and self-preservation, because by becoming strategic about workforce health like they are in other areas of their business – they will build a resilient and sustainable future for all involved.

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