Sickness Absence In The UK Labour Market 2022

26th April 2023

Sickness absence rates of workers in the UK labour market, including number of days lost and reasons for absence.

The sickness absence rate - the percentage of working hours lost because of sickness or injury rose to 2.6% in 2022, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from 2021 and the highest it has been since 2004, when it was 2.7%.

An estimated 185.6 million working days were lost because of sickness or injury in 2022; this level was a record high, but the number of days lost per worker, at 5.7, was not.

The most common reason for sickness absence was minor illnesses, accounting for 29.3% of occurrences.

All age groups experienced increases in their sickness absence rate in 2022.

Groups with the highest rates of sickness absence in 2022 included women, older workers, those with long-term health conditions, people working part-time, and people working in care, leisure, or other service occupations.

How sickness absence has changed over time
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic affected sickness absences in many ways. While the virus may have led to additional absences, measures such as furloughing, social distancing, shielding and increased homeworking helped to reduce other causes of absence in 2020. However, the reduction to the furlough scheme and its eventual end in September 2021, coupled with the decline in homeworking, shielding, and social distancing policies, and new COVID-19 variants, led to a rise in sickness absence in 2021 to above pre-pandemic levels.

The sickness absence rate (the percentage of working hours lost because of sickness or injury) increased to 2.6% in 2022, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from 2021 and up 0.7 percentage points from its pre-pandemic 2019 level. It is now at its highest point since 2004, when it was 2.7%.

The number of working days lost because of sickness or injury was an estimated 185.6 million working days in 2022, a new record high. This represents an increase of 35.8 million from 2021 and 47.4 million more than its pre-pandemic 2019 level. While the number of working days lost was a record high in 2022, days lost per worker was not, as the total number of workers in the UK has risen since the 1990s. The number of days lost per worker was 5.7 in 2022.

Caution should be taken when analysing total days lost and days lost per worker for 2020 and 2021, because of the impact of furloughed workers and policy during the coronavirus pandemic.

Read the full ONS Report HERE