asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether members of the Northern Ireland Civil Service are entitled to annual sick leave without a doctor's certificate; if so, how much sick leave they are entitled to; and what are the reasons for this entitlement. [HL8132]

Within the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) terms and conditions, there is no entitlement to annual sick leave.

Under a Cabinet Office review, doctors are not required to provide a sickness absence certificate for an absence of less than eight calendar days. Therefore, to comply with this, the NICS terms and conditions make provision for absences of up to seven calendar days to be self-certified by staff.

While there is no maximum limit as such onthe total number of self-certified days, all sickness absence levels are closely monitored. Where departments believe that the facility is being abused, or used excessively, there is discretion to withdraw it. In the event of any future absences, staff would be required to provide at their own expense a doctor’s statement as evidence of incapacity.