Scottish Government Workforce Information 2015

This publication presents statistics on the Scottish Government’s workforce for each quarter from 2012 up to the most recent quarter at the end of 2015. The statistics show: numbers of directly employed staff by category, numbers of non-directly employed workers by category, staff sickness absence, and staff diversity information.


6. Tables

Table 1 Full time equivalent (FTE) number of directly employed staff

Year Quarter to end: Full time equivalent (FTE) number of directly employed staff1 Total FTE of directly employed staff5
Permanent Temporary
Permanent Paid Parental leave2 Outward secondment Fixed term3 (with competition4) Total permanent5 Fixed term (without competition4) Fixed term student placement Modern apprentice Total temporary5
2012 Mar6 4,712 43 43 32 4,830 108 8 17 134 4,964
Jun6 4,607 37 39 26 4,709 118 14 20 152 4,861
Sep 4,561 32 39 52 4,684 106 17 20 143 4,827
Dec 4,588 38 42 60 4,728 116 17 27 160 4,888
2013 Mar 4,599 44 43 62 4,748 118 19 30 167 4,915
Jun 4,545 33 43 60 4,681 114 24 38 176 4,858
Sep 4,592 41 45 62 4,741 106 33 48 187 4,928
Dec 4,648 53 46 56 4,804 113 26 47 186 4,990
2014 Mar 4,708 47 40 52 4,847 121 47 59 226 5,074
Jun 4,725 45 41 50 4,862 136 48 55 239 5,101
Sep 4,788 50 42 42 4,923 127 32 54 213 5,136
Dec 4,811 47 41 51 4,951 151 30 56 237 5,188
2015 Mar 4,792 38 46 47 4,922 145 19 63 227 5,149
Jun 4,648 35 46 39 4,768 131 34 66 231 4,999
Sep 4,713 48 52 39 4,851 140 23 80 243 5,094
Dec 4,750 43 52 37 4,882 136 20 81 237 5,120

1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number.
2. Paid parental leave refers to those on paid maternity, adoption, or shared parental leave.
3. These are included within the permanent category for the purposes of this publication. See annex for further details.
4. Competition refers to competition for the position at recruitment.
5. Due to rounding, the total columns may not exactly match the sum of the preceding columns.
6. Note that numbers for the quarter ending March 2012 are 12 lower, and quarter ending June 2012 are 11 lower than the Office for National Statistics' (ONS) Public Sector Employment numbers. This is because the ONS figures included staff from the Parole Board (Scotland). The Parole Board staff are excluded here, as this publication only covers those in core Scottish Government directorates.

Table 2 Headcount of contingent workers

Year Quarter to end: Headcount of contingent workers Total head count of contingent workers
Consultants Contractor staff Interim managers Inward secondment/ SLA Temporary agency workers Short-term youth employment initiatives1 Other contingent workers UK Fast Stream
2012 Mar 44 75 39 244 136 25 83 0 646
Jun 37 97 42 248 156 25 82 0 687
Sep 44 110 50 226 168 19 85 0 702
Dec 39 100 52 227 198 18 85 0 719
2013 Mar 34 84 46 225 200 23 65 0 677
Jun 34 124 65 215 178 38 66 0 720
Sep 41 160 89 213 179 29 73 0 784
Dec 51 223 102 206 172 20 71 0 845
2014 Mar 54 347 138 222 210 27 76 0 1,074
Jun 61 450 154 238 226 45 74 1 1,249
Sep 57 571 135 234 200 40 88 1 1,326
Dec 55 659 124 221 174 32 88 1 1,354
2015 Mar 39 527 96 207 120 28 86 0 1,103
Jun 42 420 87 185 142 55 77 0 1,008
Sep 46 456 89 191 135 46 75 1 1,039
Dec 45 466 77 192 144 42 69 7 1,042

1. This includes: Employability fund placements, Get Ready for Work placements, student placements (where paid a stipend, rather than directly by the Scottish Government). The Scottish Government also offers one week work experience placements for school pupils. Due to the short length of these placements, these would only be identified in the quarterly "snapshots" of the data if the final day of the quarter fell during the week placement. Therefore the work experience placements have been excluded from the table to avoid any misleading effects on the figures due to the timing of placements.

Table 3 Sickness absence of directly employed staff

Year period ending in: Quarter Sickness absence of directly employed staff1
Short term3 AWDL2 Long term4 AWDL2 All absences5 AWDL2 Percentage of working days lost (%)6
Year
2012 Mar 3.4 2.9 6.3 2.8
Jun 3.4 3.0 6.4 2.9
Sep 3.4 3.2 6.6 3.0
Dec 3.6 3.2 6.8 3.0
2013 Mar 3.6 3.3 6.9 3.1
Jun 3.7 3.3 7.1 3.1
Sep 3.6 3.2 6.8 3.0
Dec 3.5 3.2 6.7 3.0
2014 Mar 3.4 3.2 6.6 2.9
Jun 3.3 3.4 6.7 3.0
Sep 3.4 3.5 6.9 3.1
Dec 3.5 3.5 7.0 3.1
2015 Mar 3.7 3.4 7.1 3.2
Jun 3.8 3.5 7.2 3.2
Sep 3.8 3.6 7.4 3.3
Dec 3.7 3.6 7.4 3.3

1. This includes all staff that were employed during each year period, not just those that were employed at the end of the period. i.e. it may include staff that left the Scottish Government during the year period.
2. AWDL is the average working days lost due to sickness per staff year in the 12 month period.
3. Average working days lost (AWDL) per staff year for spells of short term absences of 20 calendar days or less.
4. Average working days lost (AWDL) per staff year for spells of long term absences of more than 20 calendar days.
5. Average working days lost (AWDL) per staff year for all absences. Due to rounding, AWDL - all absences may not necessarily be the sum of AWDL - short and long term.
6. The percentage of working days lost, is the percentage of the total number of working days lost for all directly employed staff on the payroll out of the total working days available during the year for those staff.

Table 4 Core Scottish Government directly employed staff: by age

Year Quarter to end: Age Group1 Total head count
16-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-64 65 and over
Head count % Head count % Head count % Head count % Head count % Head count % Head count %
2012 Mar 13 0.3 545 10.5 1,402 27.0 1,727 33.2 1,247 24.0 234 4.5 31 0.6 5,199
Jun 22 0.4 518 10.2 1,381 27.2 1,694 33.3 1,223 24.1 218 4.3 28 0.6 5,084
Sep 23 0.5 505 10.0 1,382 27.4 1,695 33.6 1,200 23.8 206 4.1 29 0.6 5,040
Dec 32 0.6 506 9.9 1,396 27.4 1,706 33.4 1,211 23.7 218 4.3 32 0.6 5,101
2013 Mar 37 0.7 510 9.9 1,422 27.7 1,701 33.2 1,202 23.4 221 4.3 34 0.7 5,127
Jun 48 0.9 504 9.9 1,388 27.4 1,685 33.3 1,195 23.6 209 4.1 38 0.7 5,067
Sep 52 1.0 521 10.1 1,402 27.3 1,688 32.8 1,224 23.8 210 4.1 43 0.8 5,140
Dec 50 1.0 523 10.0 1,428 27.4 1,689 32.4 1,260 24.2 211 4.1 45 0.9 5,206
2014 Mar 60 1.1 547 10.3 1,434 27.1 1,703 32.2 1,284 24.3 215 4.1 51 1.0 5,294
Jun 64 1.2 554 10.4 1,434 27.0 1,677 31.5 1,328 25.0 213 4.0 50 0.9 5,320
Sep 57 1.1 524 9.8 1,453 27.1 1,695 31.6 1,356 25.3 223 4.2 56 1.0 5,364
Dec 56 1.0 544 10.0 1,447 26.7 1,692 31.2 1,395 25.8 225 4.2 57 1.1 5,416
2015 Mar 67 1.2 534 9.9 1,424 26.5 1,679 31.2 1,392 25.9 230 4.3 56 1.0 5,382
Jun 82 1.6 510 9.8 1,383 26.5 1,631 31.3 1,340 25.7 222 4.3 51 1.0 5,219
Sep 72 1.4 535 10.1 1,422 26.7 1,639 30.8 1,366 25.7 235 4.4 51 1.0 5,320
Dec 68 1.3 542 10.1 1,415 26.5 1,649 30.8 1,379 25.8 240 4.5 55 1.0 5,348

1. Age at end of quarter.

Table 5 Core Scottish Government directly employed staff: by disability

Year Quarter to end: Disability Total head count
Disabled Not Disabled Prefer not to say Unknown
Head count % Head count % Head count % Head count %
2012 Mar 217 4.2 3,324 63.9 23 0.4 1,635 31.4 5,199
Jun 209 4.1 3,214 63.2 25 0.5 1,636 32.2 5,084
Sep 204 4.0 3,150 62.5 23 0.5 1,663 33.0 5,040
Dec 207 4.1 3,154 61.8 24 0.5 1,716 33.6 5,101
2013 Mar 212 4.1 3,152 61.5 24 0.5 1,739 33.9 5,127
Jun 203 4.0 3,113 61.4 27 0.5 1,724 34.0 5,067
Sep 210 4.1 3,105 60.4 27 0.5 1,798 35.0 5,140
Dec 213 4.1 3,110 59.7 28 0.5 1,855 35.6 5,206
2014 Mar 226 4.3 3,109 58.7 30 0.6 1,929 36.4 5,294
Jun 225 4.2 3,095 58.2 32 0.6 1,968 37.0 5,320
Sep 237 4.4 3,093 57.7 34 0.6 2,000 37.3 5,364
Dec 272 5.0 3,059 56.5 37 0.7 2,048 37.8 5,416
2015 Mar 275 5.1 3,026 56.2 37 0.7 2,044 38.0 5,382
Jun 260 5.0 2,934 56.2 37 0.7 1,988 38.1 5,219
Sep 271 5.1 2,978 56.0 41 0.8 2,030 38.2 5,320
Dec 274 5.1 2,980 55.7 42 0.8 2,052 38.4 5,348

Table 6 Core Scottish Government directly employed staff: by ethnicity

Year Quarter to end: Ethnicity Total head count
Ethnic minority1 White Prefer not to say Unknown
Head count % Head count % Head count % Head count %
2012 Mar 69 1.3 4,148 79.8 76 1.5 906 17.4 5,199
Jun 67 1.3 4,024 79.2 75 1.5 918 18.1 5,084
Sep 71 1.4 4,008 79.5 74 1.5 887 17.6 5,040
Dec 71 1.4 4,064 79.7 72 1.4 894 17.5 5,101
2013 Mar 80 1.6 4,089 79.8 70 1.4 888 17.3 5,127
Jun 79 1.6 4,063 80.2 73 1.4 852 16.8 5,067
Sep 81 1.6 4,078 79.3 70 1.4 911 17.7 5,140
Dec 86 1.7 4,139 79.5 71 1.4 910 17.5 5,206
2014 Mar 88 1.7 4,175 78.9 80 1.5 951 18.0 5,294
Jun 84 1.6 4,144 77.9 79 1.5 1,013 19.0 5,320
Sep 85 1.6 4,121 76.8 80 1.5 1,078 20.1 5,364
Dec 86 1.6 4,322 79.8 80 1.5 928 17.1 5,416
2015 Mar 88 1.6 4,316 80.2 80 1.5 898 16.7 5,382
Jun 89 1.7 4,200 80.5 84 1.6 846 16.2 5,219
Sep 85 1.6 4,317 81.1 86 1.6 832 15.6 5,320
Dec 84 1.6 4,350 81.3 87 1.6 827 15.5 5,348

1. 'Ethnic minority' includes: African, Caribbean or Black; Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British; Mixed or Multiple Ethnic Group; Other Ethnic Group.

Table 7 Core Scottish Government directly employed staff: by gender

Year Quarter to end: Gender Total head count
Female Male
Head count % Head count %
2012 Mar 2,565 49.3 2,634 50.7 5,199
Jun 2,491 49.0 2,593 51.0 5,084
Sep 2,465 48.9 2,575 51.1 5,040
Dec 2,499 49.0 2,602 51.0 5,101
2013 Mar 2,535 49.4 2,592 50.6 5,127
Jun 2,519 49.7 2,548 50.3 5,067
Sep 2,549 49.6 2,591 50.4 5,140
Dec 2,587 49.7 2,619 50.3 5,206
2014 Mar 2,648 50.0 2,646 50.0 5,294
Jun 2,660 50.0 2,660 50.0 5,320
Sep 2,683 50.0 2,681 50.0 5,364
Dec 2,709 50.0 2,707 50.0 5,416
2015 Mar 2,699 50.1 2,683 49.9 5,382
Jun 2,619 50.2 2,600 49.8 5,219
Sep 2,688 50.5 2,632 49.5 5,320
Dec 2,705 50.6 2,643 49.4 5,348

Table 8 Core Scottish Government directly employed staff: by marital/civil partnership status

Year Quarter to end: Marital/civil partnership status Total head count
Married /civil partnership Single Other1 Prefer not to say Unknown
Head count % Head count % Head count % Head count % Head count %
2012 Mar 2,413 46.4 1,034 19.9 366 7.0 336 6.5 1,050 20.2 5,199
Jun 2,347 46.2 1,001 19.7 353 6.9 329 6.5 1,054 20.7 5,084
Sep 2,315 45.9 979 19.4 351 7.0 308 6.1 1,087 21.6 5,040
Dec 2,319 45.5 999 19.6 370 7.3 305 6.0 1,108 21.7 5,101
2013 Mar 2,321 45.3 986 19.2 373 7.3 310 6.0 1,137 22.2 5,127
Jun 2,292 45.2 955 18.8 364 7.2 303 6.0 1,153 22.8 5,067
Sep 2,325 45.2 933 18.2 370 7.2 294 5.7 1,218 23.7 5,140
Dec 2,345 45.0 920 17.7 378 7.3 297 5.7 1,266 24.3 5,206
2014 Mar 2,341 44.2 944 17.8 387 7.3 291 5.5 1,331 25.1 5,294
Jun 2,340 44.0 940 17.7 390 7.3 287 5.4 1,363 25.6 5,320
Sep 2,370 44.2 918 17.1 391 7.3 279 5.2 1,406 26.2 5,364
Dec 2,378 43.9 913 16.9 393 7.3 281 5.2 1,451 26.8 5,416
2015 Mar 2,363 43.9 892 16.6 406 7.5 270 5.0 1,451 27.0 5,382
Jun 2,280 43.7 857 16.4 405 7.8 245 4.7 1,432 27.4 5,219
Sep 2,326 43.7 861 16.2 412 7.7 245 4.6 1,476 27.7 5,320
Dec 2,341 43.8 858 16.0 415 7.8 238 4.5 1,496 28.0 5,348

1. Other includes: divorced, domestic partner, legally separated, living together, separated, and widowed.

Table 9 Core Scottish Government directly employed staff: by religion or belief

Year Quarter to end: Religion or Belief 1 Total head count
None Church of Scotland Roman Catholic Other Christian Other religion or belief 2 Prefer not to say Unknown
Head count % Head count % Head count % Head count % Head count % Head count % Head count %
2015 Dec 1,439 26.9 616 11.5 324 6.1 212 4.0 69 1.3 171 3.2 2,517 47.1 5,348

1. Note that prior to the introduction of this publication, snapshots of staff data containing religion or belief weren't routinely stored. This is beacuse collection of data on this characteristic was started later than the other characteristics, and the numbers were initially low.
2. Other religion or belief includes: Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, Jewish, Hindu, Pagan, and Other.

Table 10 Core Scottish Government directly employed staff: by sexual orientation

Year Quarter to end: Sexual orientation 1 Total head count
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, other Hetero-sexual /straight Prefer not to say Unknown
Head count % Head count % Head count % Head count %
2015 Mar 108 2.0 2,402 44.6 148 2.7 2,724 50.6 5,382
Jun - - - - - - - - -
Sep - - - - - - - - -
Dec 114 2.1 2,605 48.7 159 3 2,470 46.2 5,348

1. Note that prior to the introduction of this publication, snapshots of staff data containing sexual orientation weren't routinely stored. This is beacuse collection of data on this characteristic was started later than the other characteristics, and the numbers were initially low. Data were collected for the ONS in Mar 2015.

Contact

Email: Andrew Morgan

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