And the public sector has lost more than 200 people for periods over the past 12 months due to stress of some kind.
The figures have been revealed in official answers from the Policy & Resources Committee to questions from Deputy Neil Inder.
Deputy Inder was concerned about long-term sickness policies in the States.
P&R said that at 31 August there were 77 employees on long-term sickness absence of more than 21 days.
It said that the cost, calculated at some £975,000, covered both loss of productivity and any direct costs associated to covering that absence.
Further costs might include funding temporary cover.
Long-term sickness pay, which can be payable to staff who have completed five years of service, is paid at full rate for the first six months and then as half pay for the next six months.
Staff off ill with work-related stress and mental health issues, both short and long-term, added up to 217 over the past year, some 3% of the entire States workforce.
P&R said that stress not related to work was at a level more than double those for work-related stress, and impacted nearly three times the number of employees.
Deputy Inder said that he had been prompted to ask questions about the States as an employer following conversations and concerns expressed by the recruitment sector. He had particular concerns about staff in the Revenue Service working from home and data security implications. He was told that three-quarters of staff were in the office each day and fewer than half were able to work from home.
Deputy Inder also asked questions about the recruitment process and on-boarding of new staff. P&R said that about 2.5% of new staff had failed their probation so far this year and admitted that it lost about 2.9% of new recruits within their first year in the public sector.
P&R described employment in the public sector as ‘generally very stable’, with turnover at about 13%, more than 30% of staff having between one and five years’ service, and more than half having served more than five years.
In the past three years more than 80% of staff completing an exit questionnaire said that they would recommend the States as a place to work and a similar number said they would consider returning to the public sector in the future.
Deputy Inder said that he was interested in talk from the States about ‘doing things differently’.
‘In an organisation this size there are bound to be inefficiencies. I will support [chief executive] Boley Smillie’s push for savings but I will be watching closely. We need to see real change.
‘A deputy’s role is to hold to account and scrutinise, to ensure that we are delivering efficiently and effectively, and I am continuing to do that.’
You need to be logged in to comment. If you had an account on our previous site, you can migrate your old account and comment profile to this site by visiting this page and entering the email address for your old account. We'll then send you an email with a link to follow to complete the process.