Cost of staff sickness grew to £103bn in 2023

The hidden cost of rising workplace sickness in the UK has increased to over £100bn a year, and there has been a significant loss of productivity due to presenteeism, according to a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). The cost of staff sickness grew to £103bn in 2023. The annual bill was £73bn in 2018. Most of the increase (£25bn) was attributed to lower productivity. Employees now lose an average of 44 days of productivity due to working through sickness, up from 35 days in 2018. The report highlights the negative impact of presenteeism on productivity and calls for a change in approach to protect workers and boost profits. Dr Jamie O’Halloran, a senior research fellow at the IPPR, said: “Too often, UK workers are being pressured to work through sickness when that’s not appropriate – harming their wellbeing and reducing productivity.” He added: “This can be because of a bad workplace culture, poor management, financial insecurity, or just weak understanding of long-term conditions among UK employers.”