Working days lost in Great Britain

40.1 million

Estimated working days lost due to work-related ill health and non-fatal workplace injuries in 2024/25 (LFS)

Working days lost, 2024/25

Workplace injuries and ill health Estimated working days lost
Work-related ill health 35.7
Non-fatal workplace injuries 4.4
  • Stress, depression or anxiety and musculoskeletal disorders accounted for the majority of days lost due to work-related ill health in 2024/25, 22.1 million and 7.1 million respectively.
  • On average, each person suffering took around 16.4 days off work. This varies as follows:
    • 6.5 days for Injuries
    • 19.1 days for Ill health cases
    • 22.9 days for Stress, depression or anxiety
    • 14.0 days for Musculoskeletal disorders

Change over time

  • In recent years prior to the coronavirus pandemic, working days lost per worker due to self-reported work-related illness or injury had been broadly flat. The current rate (1.46 working days lost per worker) is similar than the 2018/19 pre-coronavirus level.
  • A chart showing how the working days lost rates have changed over time can be found in the Historical picture statistics in Great Britain report.

More information on working days lost

  • Data source: Labour Force Survey (LFS) (estimates of working days lost due to self-reported  work-related  ill health and workplace injuries )

  • The detailed data included in the charts can be found in the following tables:
    • LFSILLTYP - working days lost due to self-reported work-related ill health
    • LFSINJSUM - working days lost due to self-reported workplace injuries
    • LFSWDL - working days lost due to self-reported work-related ill health and  workplace injuries
  • Further working days lost tables

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Updated 2025-10-23