Coronavirus pandemic and work-related ill-health in Great Britain, 2020/21

93,000

Workers suffering COVID-19 in 2020/21 which they believe may have been from exposure to coronavirus at work (new or long-standing) (LFS).

645,000

Workers suffering from a work-related illness caused or made worse by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic (new or long-standing) in 2020/21 (LFS) [Excludes 93,000 suffering COVID-19]

32,110

COVID-19 cases reported to Enforcing Authorities in 2020/21 which employer believed may be caused by exposure at work (RIDDOR)

New and long-standing cases of COVID-19 which the worker believes may have been caused by exposure to coronavirus at work, 2020/21
Case type	Percentage of all COVID-19 cases
Worker from health and social work sector [Note A]	56
COVID-19 confirmed by a test [Note B]	80

The rate of self-reported COVID-19 believed to have been caused by exposure to coronavirus at work is around 4 times higher in workers in health and social work compared to the average rate in workers across all industries.

New and long-standing cases of work-related ill health caused or made worse by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic by type, 2020/21

New and long-standing cases of work-related ill health caused or made worse by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic by type, 2020/21
Category	Cases
Stress, depression or anxiety	70
Musculoskeletal disorders	13
Other	17

Industries with higher than average rates of new and long-standing work-related ill health caused or made worse by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, 2020/21

Industry	Rate	Lower CI	Upper CI
Human health/social work	3110	2545	3675
Public administration/defence	2750	1860	3640
Education	2450	1855	3045
All Industries	1780	1595	1965

Around 20% of all those suffering from a work-related illness caused or made worse by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic were in human health and social work activities.

Notes

These estimates of the number of workers who suffered work-related ill health as a result of the coronavirus pandemic should not be subtracted from the overall estimate of work-related ill health presented elsewhere. It cannot be assumed that those individuals would not have otherwise suffered a work-related illness in the absence of coronavirus. This includes both those suffering COVID-19 they believe may have been from exposure to coronavirus at work and those suffering from another work-related illness caused or made worse by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Workers suffering COVID-19 they believe may have been from exposure to coronavirus at work in 2020/21 (LFS)

This estimate was derived only from those reporting either a work-related infection or a breathing or lung problem as their most serious work-related illness in 2020/21. For more details see Technical Report: The Impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the interpretation of Health and Safety Statistics 2020/21
Reliably identifying the source of exposure for a disease that is widely prevalent in the community at large is difficult and these self-reports may under-or overestimate the true scale.

Workers suffering from a work-related illness caused or made worse by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic (LFS)

As well as COVID-19 due to exposure at work, the coronavirus pandemic could also have caused or made worse other work-related conditions. Rapid changes in how and where people were working, changes in work intensity and perceived job insecurity (even if working conditions did not markedly change) all have the potential to effect workers health. For more details see our technical report.
This estimate does not include the number of workers suffering COVID-19 which they believe may have been from exposure to coronavirus at work. This estimate is presented separately.