Facts and Figures
- 164 million days lost to the UK economy during 2005 through ill health
- costing the UK economy £13bn a year*
- similar figures reported for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009
(slightly up 2007, 2008 and slightly down 2009) - the most significant causes of absence, for manual and non-manual workers, are back pain and musculo-skeletal injuries
- smoking causes half of all premature deaths
- excessive alcohol consumption causes 33,000 premature deaths a year
- 1 in 2 adults are overweight and 1 in 5 are obese
- obese men are 33% more likely to die of cancer
- obese women are at 50% greater risk of getting breast cancer
- 1 in 4 of us die prematurely of cancer and 2 in 4 of heart disease but these diseases
are 75% lifestyle related and therefore possibly preventable - half a million people each year experience stress at a level that will make them ill
- a diet rich in saturated fats and processed foods, smoking, stress,
alcohol and lack of exercise are all contributory factors to these statistics
Work-related stats from employer surveys 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
- average employee absence was 3.5% of working time lost in 2006, 3.7% of working time lost in 2007
back to 3.5% in 2008 and 3.9% in 2009 - average cost of employee absence per employee was £598 in 2006, £659 in 2007, £666 in 2008 and £694 in 2009
- days lost per employee pa were 8 in 2006, 8.4 days in 2007,
8 days in 2008 and 7.4 days in 2009 - absence levels for public services employees 4.3% pa in 2006,
4.5% (10.3 days pa) in 2007, 9.8 days in 2008 and 9.7 days in 2009 - absence levels for private sector employees were 3% in 2006,
3.2% (7.2 days pa) in 2007, 7.2 days in 2008 and 6.4 days in 2009 - absence levels for non-profit sector employees were 3.6% in 2006,
4.2% (9.6 days pa) in 2007, 8.5 days in 2008 and 9.4 days in 2009 - absence levels for manufacturing and production employees were 3.5% in 2006, 3.3% (7.6 days pa) in 2007, 7.2 days in 2008
and 6.5 days in 2009 - on average employer respondents believe approx 16% of absence may not be genuine
- 50% of respondents identify Statutory Sick Pay as a significant or very significant cost to employer
- approx 40% of respondents rate their strategy on employee well-being as poor
average size of organisation - public sector 5,606 employees;
private sector 1,412; non-profit 403; manufacturing and production 531
*PcW report, April 2011, actually estimates the cost to UK business a year is £32 billion
References:
CIPD - National Surveys of Absence (2007, 2008, 2009)
CBI - Confederation of British Industry
ONS - Office of National Statistics
WHO - World Health Organisation
Cancer Research UK
HSE - Managing sickness absence