Workplace injury and ill health cost UK plc £22.9bn in just one financial year, according to data from the government’s Health & Safety Executive (HSE).
The figure covered the 2023/24 period – the latest data available, while around 40.1 million working days were lost in 2024/25.
Of the total cost, £16.4bn came from cases of work-related ill health, excluding long latency illness such as cancer, with 730,000 workers suffering from a new case of work-related ill health in 2024/25.
Around 35.7 million working days of the total 40.1 million were lost due to work-related ill health in 2024/25.
These costs were borne by a mixture of individuals, employers and the state, or taxpayer, and include both financial costs (covering loss of output, healthcare costs and other payments made) and human costs (the monetary valuation given to pain, grief, suffering and loss of life).
The figures have been published just two weeks after the government’s Keep Britain Working review which set out a range of approaches and recommendations to help cut the human and financial costs related to sickness absence.
‘Immense burden’
Brett Hill, head of health and protection at Broadstone, said: “These figures demonstrate the immense burden that ill-health, in particular, is having on the UK economy, employers and individuals.
“Hundreds of thousands of people every year are suffering new cases of ill-health that are costing the economy and billions of pounds a year as well as inflicting immense personal pain.
“It is a reminder of the importance of employers implementing proactive healthcare strategies, such as occupational health programmes, that can protect the health of their workforce to avoid costly absenteeism through illness or injury.
“With NHS waiting lists still at record levels and unlikely to materially improve in the short-term, businesses must increasingly shoulder the burden of maintaining the health of their staff, with a clear focus on prevention and early intervention.”
Cheryl Brennan, managing director at Howden Employee Benefits, added: “With nearly two million employees suffering from work-related ill health, and a million also experiencing work-related mental health issues, stats from today’s Health & Safety at Work report highlight how important an effective healthcare proposition is to employers who are looking to safeguard productivity against a tough economic backdrop.
“According to the HSE report, over 40 million days were lost to ill health and injury, demonstrating the detrimental cost to employers. Employee health is rapidly shifting from perk to priority.
“As greater strain is placed on the NHS and employees increasingly turn to private healthcare, having a benefits package which addresses these issues and reduces the negative effect on productivity has never been more important.”
