Working days lost in Great Britain
Important Note
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the government's response has impacted recent trends in health and safety statistics published by HSE and this should be considered when comparing across time periods. More details can be found in our reports on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on health and safety statistics.
36.8 million
Estimated working days lost due to work-related ill health and non-fatal workplace injuries in 2021/22 (LFS)
Working days lost, 2021/22
| Workplace injuries and ill health | Estimated working days lost |
|---|---|
| Work-related ill health | 30.8 |
| Non-fatal workplace injuries | 6.0 |
- Stress, depression or anxiety and musculoskeletal disorders accounted for the majority of days lost due to work-related ill health in 2021/22, 17.0 million and 7.3 million respectively.
- On average, each person suffering took around 16.5 days off work. This varies as follows:
- 10.6 days for Injuries
- 17.2 days for Ill health cases
- 18.6 days for Stress, depression or anxiety
- 15.2 days for Musculoskeletal disorders
Change over time
- 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 is higher than the 2018/19 pre-coronavirus levels.
- 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