Personal leave within the public sector is costing Tasmania $68 million a year, a figure that is due in part to a culture of entitlement, the state's auditor-general has found.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Auditor-General Mike Blake studied five government agencies covering more than half the public sector, and found the direct costs of sick and carers leave were increasing.
"The overall results of the audit support widely held concerns that personal leave is both a significant cost and an area that is inconsistently and under managed across the state service," Mr Blake said.
"It is also an area which is understood to be impacted by an ‘entitlement’ culture which has apparently developed over a significant period of time."
Mr Blake said even a small percentage improvement in the area would result in savings and better productivity.
Community and Public Sector Union state secretary Tom Lynch said the costs of leave were no higher than other jurisdictions, but supported measures to improve its management.
“The union would like to see a much greater focus on getting workers back to productive work following an illness or injury even if that means performing suitable alternate duties for a period”, Mr Lynch said.