Sickness absence in the UK is at its highest level in more than 15 years. Data from The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) shows that UK employees are taking an average of 9.4 days sickness absence a year – nearly two working weeks. This marks a steep rise from 7.8 days in 2023 and 5.8 days before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The figures come from CIPD’s latest The Health and Wellbeing at work report, supported by Simplyhealth and based on responses from more than 1,100 employers. The report explores the causes of absence and highlights the urgent need for more proactive workplace wellbeing strategies.
According to the report, the three leading causes for long-term absence (described as four weeks or more) are mental ill health, such as depression and anxiety (41 per cent), musculoskeletal injuries, such as back pain (31 per cent) and other long-term conditions, such as cancer (30%).
For short-term absence, the top causes are minor illnesses (78 per cent), mental ill health (29 per cent) and stress or caring responsibilities (26 per cent).
Commenting on the findings, CIPD stated that while companies are increasingly recognising the need to tackle health and absence, many fail to utilise preventative measures.
A CIPD spokeperson said:
“Our research finds that most employers (74 per cent) now place employee wellbeing on the senior leadership agenda – a positive increase from 61 per cent in 2020,“But many employers remain reactive, focused on support once someone is unwell, rather than taking proactive steps to avoid ill health and absence. Common measures include access to counselling, employee assistance programmes, or return-to-work adjustments. Less common, but particularly effective, is training line managers to spot early warning signs, hold supportive conversations and create healthier team cultures.”
According to Paul Schreier, CEO of Simplyhealth, a change in approach would allow employers to build more healthy and resilient organisations. He said:
“By offering preventative care through easy-to-access health benefits that target the key drivers of absence – mental ill health, musculoskeletal issues and minor illnesses – employees are able to seek support early, before symptoms escalate”
