One-day sick leave has fallen by more than 43% in one year in the territorial public service (FPT) and by 40% in the hospital public service (FPH), according to a study conducted by an insurance company specialized. This significant drop is believed to be due to the introduction of a waiting day in the public service on the 1ster January 2012: the waiting day consisting in not compensating the first day of sick leave of a civil servant (in the private sector, this waiting period can go up to the 3rd day of sickness).
This is the first time in six years that the number of days of absence has fallen significantly. Stops of 2 and 3 days have also fallen: respectively – 18% and -12% in the territorial public service and -31.8% and -16.3% for hospitals.
However, if short-term sick leave has decreased, it also seems that sick leaves tend to be longer due to the increase in accidents at work or occupational diseases. Thus since 2007, the duration of work stoppages has increased by 16% in the territorial public service, by 10% in the hospital public service.
The public service waiting day was introduced in early 2012 by the Fillion government in order to dissuade civil servants from taking “comfort” sick days. But Marylise Lebranchu, current Minister of State Reform, Decentralization and the Public Service, who felt that the operation was not as financially interesting as hoped and that this device was, moreover, unfair, useless , ineffective and humiliating “decided to remove this day of deficiency on the 1er next january.