The civil service is losing over four million working days due to staff sickness a year, with absence rates rising by more than ten per cent a year.
Figures show that Whitehall is on track to report its highest ever staff sickness level, with its previous peak of 8.3 days a year lost per employee two years ago.
Some officials criticised rules from the previous Conservative Government, which stated that civil servants needed to spend at least 60 per cent of their time in the office.
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One said they have evidence that people called in sick when they may have been able to work from home.
Almost 600,000 hours have been lost in the Home Office due to sickness
| GETTYThe Home Office has also noticed a considerable rise in sickness rates, with almost 600,000 hours lost a year.
Angela Rayner's Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government absences have also risen by 12 per cent.
At the Department for Work and Pensions, over 3,500 of the department's 96,000 staff were sick at the end of March, with an additional 1,696 absent for other reasons.
In 2024, the Department for Transport lost 9.2 days to illness per staff member, a seven per cent increase.
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Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that public sector sickness rates are almost 50 per cent higher than those in the private sector.
Deputy general secretary of the union Prospect called the rise a "source of considerable worry".
He said: "What we are hearing from our members is that many are experiencing uncertainty about their future thanks to mixed messages on absolute numbers of civil servants and where they will work in future, unclear communication about reform, the long-term impact of pay restraint and a spending review which has many departmental budgets falling in real terms.
"Our experience shows us that increasing sick days are indicative of an organisation which has underlying morale, pay and workload issues."
Angela Rayner's Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government absences have also risen by 12 per cent
| PAThe Shadow Cabinet Office minister, Alex Burghart, said taxpayers "deserve to know that their money is being spent on providing proper governance" and described the figures as "troubling".
Burghart explained: "The last Conservative Government took the necessary measures to clamp down on ballooning work from home rates and increase the cost efficiency of the civil service.
"But since taking office, Labour have watered down or scrapped all of our reforms - and this is the result. Only the Conservatives are serious about making sure that the state delivers for the taxpayer, not the other way around."
The Government said: "The Civil Service provides a range of tools and policies to ensure that employees remain in work and are supported to return to work as quickly as possible following ill health."