A new study has revealed which regions of the UK lose the most days a year at work due to sickness and absence, with some surprising trends.
Personal injury experts Claims.co.uk, analysed ONS data on sickness and absence within the UK labour market, to find the average number of sick or absence days taken per worker within UK regions between 2013 and 2022.
Fourth place goes to Northern Ireland, which over the ten-year period saw workers taking 4.86 days off due to sickness or absence, on average. Due to the relatively small population size of Northern Ireland, 4.06 million work days were lost on average, with 2022 being the year with the largest figure, at 5.1 million days, both the lowest of any UK region.
In first place is Wales, taking the crown as the UK’s “sickie” capital. Wales was found to lose 5.64 days a year on average per worker over the ten-year period. 2022 was the year with the largest number of sickness or absence days taken per worker, at eight days – the largest figure over the time period of any UK region.
Over the ten-year period, Wales saw 8.15 million work days lost due to sickness or absence, on average, with 2022 alone recording 11.6 million work days lost.
The North East of England ranks in at second place, being found to lose 5.11 days a year per worker due to sickness or absence, on average. Due to the smaller population of the region, the North East of England saw the second-lowest total work days lost due to sickness or absence of any UK region, only topping out above Northern Ireland at 6.07 million days per year, on average.
Third place goes to Scotland, which lost 4.87 work days a year per worker over the ten-year period, on average. Out of every UK region, Scotland recorded the highest number of days lost per worker throughout 2022 (6.5 days) as well as the highest total number of days lost to sickness and absence (17.7 million days). That’s equal to the entire population of Scotland taking over three days (3.24 days) off work, regardless of age or employment status.
Fifth place goes to the North West of England, recorded as losing 4.8 work days a year per worker, on average, due to sickness or absence. Notably, the North West of England had the second-highest number of days lost in terms of millions averaged over the ten-year period, losing a staggering 16.24 million work days per year. This figure is only beaten by South East England, at 18.29 million work days per year lost due to sickness or absence.
The remainder of the list features Yorkshire and the Humber at sixth, where workers were found to take an average of 4.74 days off per year due to sickness or absence. Yorkshire and the Humber saw a total of 12.06 million days of work lost per year, on average.
The East Midlands ranks seventh, losing 4.63 work days a year per worker over the ten-year period, on average. 2022 was the year in which the East Midlands saw the most days lost per worker and total work days lost in terms of millions, at six days per worker and 14 million work days lost.
Eighth place goes to the West Midlands, where workers were found to take an average of 4.49 days off per year due to sickness or absence. Over the ten-year period, the West Midlands saw an average of 12.22 million days of work lost per year.
The South West of England ranks in at ninth, losing 4.44 work days a year per worker over the ten-year period, on average. 2022 was found to be the year in which the South West saw the most days lost per worker and total work days lost in terms of millions, at 5.9 days per worker and 16.5 million work days lost.
Tenth place is a two-way tie between the South East of England and East of England, with both regions losing 4.05 days each year per worker, on average.
Interestingly, the South East saw the most days lost over the time period of any UK region, with a mind-boggling 18.29 million work days lost due to sickness and absence, on average. On the other hand, the East of England saw 12.39 million days lost, on average.
Finally, in last place is London, seeing the least days lost per worker of any UK region, with workers losing 3.44 days per year due to sickness or absence, averaged over the ten-year period. However, due to the sheer population size of London, an average of 15.66 million work days were lost over the time period, on average. 2022 was found to be the year in which the most work days were lost due to sickness or absence, at 23.5 million – the highest of any UK region for 2022.
Interestingly, across the United Kingdom, 140 million work days were lost due to sickness or absence, on average, over the ten-year period, working out to a total of 1.04 billion work days lost in total. 2022 saw the highest number of days lost of any of the years analysed, at a staggering 185.6 million days lost due to sickness or absence—that’s equal to the entire population of the UK taking just over two days off work (2.07 days), regardless of age or work status per year.
Areas in the South of the United Kingdom were found to take the least sick days off per year, with a combined total of 3.9 work days lost due to absence or sickness per year, on average across the South West, South East, East of England, and London.
