Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Recruitment & retention
    • Wellbeing
    • Occupational Health
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Recruitment & retention
    • Wellbeing
    • Occupational Health
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise

ResearchOccupational HealthMental healthSickness absence management

Sickness absence drops to all-time low

by Nic Paton 4 May 2017
by Nic Paton 4 May 2017

Workplace sickness absence is at an all-time low, the Government’s official statistics body said in March.

An estimated 137 million working days were lost because of sickness or injury in the UK in 2016, according to the Office for National Statistics. This equated to the equivalent to 4.3 days per worker – the lowest recorded rate since the series began in 1993, when the number was 7.2 days per worker, it added.

ONS statistician Brendan Freeman said: “Since 2003, there has been a fairly steady decline in the number of working days lost to sickness, especially during the economic downturn.

“In recent years, there has been a small rise in the number of days lost, but due to an increasing number of people entering the workforce, the rate per worker and overall sickness absence rate have stayed largely flat.”

The 137 million working days lost to sickness or injury in 2016 contrasts with a peak of about 185 million days lost a year in the late 1990s. Thereafter, the number of days declined to a low of 132 million days in 2013, it said.

Minor illnesses (such as coughs and colds) accounted for the most days lost because of sickness in 2016, with 34 million days lost (24.8% of the total days lost to sickness).

This was followed by musculoskeletal problems (including back pain, neck and upper limb problems) at 30.8 million days (22.4%).

Mental health issues (including stress, depression, anxiety and more serious conditions such as manic depression and schizophrenia) resulted in 15.8 million days being lost (11.5%).

During 2016, the sickness absence rate was 1.9% for the UK as a whole. Sickness absence rates were highest in Wales and Scotland, at 2.6% and 2.5% respectively.

They were lowest in London – at 1.4% – primarily because of the fact it tends to have a younger workforce and a concentration of high-skilled jobs, both of which tend to have low absence rates, the ONS argued.

Current smokers had a higher absence rate at 2.5% than for those who had never smoked (1.6%), according to 2015 data.

Employees tended to have a higher rate of sickness absence than the self-employed – in 2016, it was 2.1% for employees and 1.4% for the self-employed.

Since 1994 (the earliest data available), public-sector employees have had consistently higher rates than those employed in the private sector, though both sectors had seen an overall decrease and the gap between them is narrowing.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

In 2016, the figures were 2.9% for the public sector and 1.7% for the private sector, said ONS.

Nic Paton

Nic Paton is consultant editor at Personnel Today. One of the country's foremost workplace health journalists, Nic has written for Personnel Today and Occupational Health & Wellbeing since 2001, and edited the magazine from 2018.

previous post
Why your recruitment and talent management strategies need to change
next post
Criminal record checks: filtering system ruled unlawful

You may also like

Call for a national OH service to tackle...

16 Sep 2025

‘Troubling gap’ in confidence to discuss suicide at...

10 Sep 2025

Employers need to step up on wellbeing provision,...

10 Sep 2025

Managing risk assessments for employees who are deaf...

9 Sep 2025

Sickness absence soars to nearly two weeks per...

9 Sep 2025

Director with cancer treated unfairly over pay, rules...

5 Sep 2025

Working with pesticides linked to higher risk of...

4 Sep 2025

Third of employees ‘anxious’ about lack of workplace...

3 Sep 2025

Personnel Today Awards 2025 shortlist: Health and wellbeing

2 Sep 2025

MoD worker loses harassment claim over lack of...

27 Aug 2025

  • Workplace health benefits need to be simplified SPONSORED | Long-term sickness...Read more
  • Work smart – stay well: Avoid unnecessary pain with centred ergonomics SPONSORED | If you often notice...Read more
  • Elevate your L&D strategy at the World of Learning 2025 SPONSORED | This October...Read more
  • How to employ a global workforce from the UK (webinar) WEBINAR | With an unpredictable...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits Live
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Recruitment & retention
    • Wellbeing
    • Occupational Health
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise