Workers in the public sector take on average more than three days more a year sick leave than their counterparts in the private sector

A study last year showed that council workers took nearly twice as many sick days as employees in the private sector.

The average National Health Service (NHS) worker takes 10.7 days off per year compared with 9.7 days for the public sector as a whole and 6.4 days in the private sector.

An NHS worker gets sick pay on full pay for the first six months and then a further six months at half pay after five years service.

There is criticism of the NHS sick pay scheme as it is viewed by some as offering little incentive to workers to return to work.

The NHS is not the only public sector organisation which affords generous sickness pay for employees as police also receive full pay for six months and then half pay for a further six. Teachers get full pay for the first 25 days off sick and then half pay for 75 days in their first year, rising to 20 weeks' full pay and 20 weeks on half pay after four years working.

Police who are on sick leave after sustaining injuries at work may at their Chief Officers discretion have their sick entitlement extended, though they are not obliged to do so it is discretionary.

Stephen Alambritis from the Federation of Small Businesses led a call for sick pay to be reviewed because of the wide discrepancy between sick pay in the public and private sector.

He said that it was 'overly generous' to have full sick pay for six months.