Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

ResearchMental healthSickness absence managementOccupational Health

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

Workplace stress: Why it’s time to rebrand resilience

22 May 2025

Uncertainty over law hampering legal use of medical...

20 May 2025

Employers ‘worryingly’ ignorant about stress risk assessments

20 May 2025

Awareness weeks fuel spike in demand for mental...

19 May 2025

Workers ‘wait and see’ as companies struggle to...

16 May 2025

Four ways employers can reduce the risk of...

14 May 2025

Data highlights positive link between group income support...

14 May 2025

Period pain and absence harm women’s pay and...

13 May 2025

Healthcare workers prioritise mental health support in new...

12 May 2025

Why HR burnout is a strategic issue

12 May 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

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
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today