PHS FOI 2026-002410
- Date of request
- 21 May 2026
- Date of response
- 22 June 2026
- FOI request ID
- PHS FOI 2026-002410
- Corporate information
Request
I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA).
Please provide figures regarding staff sickness absence within your organization for the most recent complete financial year (e.g., 2024/2025) or calendar year.
Specifically, I require a breakdown cross-referencing the following three criteria:
1. The Staff Pay Band / Grade (e.g., Agenda for Change Bands).
2. The Department / Business Unit / Directorate (e.g., Human Resources, Finance, Operations, Clinical Specialties).
3. The Recorded Reason for Absence (e.g., mental health/stress, musculoskeletal, respiratory).
For each intersection of the criteria above, please provide:
• The total number of staff members who had a recorded sickness absence.
• The total number of working days lost.
Data Format Preference
I would prefer to receive this data electronically in an editable, scannable format, such as an Excel spreadsheet or CSV file.
Data Protection & Anonymisation Protocol I recognise that cross-referencing three distinct variables may result in low cell counts (fewer than 5 individuals), which can raise data protection concerns under Section 38(1)(b) of FOISA.
To prevent a refusal under personal data exemptions, if any data point risks identifying an individual, do not refuse the request as a whole. Instead, please apply one of the following standard anonymisation/aggregation techniques:
1. Broaden Categories: Group specific departments into wider directorates, or combine specific sickness reasons into broader umbrella terms (e.g., merging "anxiety" and "depression" into "Mental Health related").
2. Data Suppression: Suppress low figures by replacing counts of fewer than 5 with an asterisk * or <5.