British workers are calling in sick more often than at any time in the last 15 years, according to newly released data.
The research comes amid growing fears around declining UK productivity, which fell 0.8 per cent in the third quarter of 2024, and 1.8 per cent over the last year.
Former Marks & Spencer boss Lord Rose of Monewden recently told Times Radio that UK workers lacked that “little bit of grit”. Peter Hamilton, from the insurer Zurich, estimated that long-term sick leave would cost the economy £66.3bn a year in lost productivity by 2030.
“The increase in the numbers of the economically inactive is not sustainable,” he said.
Here, The i Paper looks at how many days of sick leave the average worker takes in the UK compared with countries around the world.
UK workers took an average of 9.4 sick days off over the last twelve months, the highest absence rate for over fifteen years, according to the latest Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development study.
This was a significant jump compared to pre-pandemic levels, when the average employee took just 5.9 days off for sickness absence.
In the UK, the statutory sick pay rate is £118.75 per week, which can be paid for up to 28 weeks.
Rachel Suff, senior well-being adviser at the CIPD, said employers should take a “proactive approach to support people managing health conditions while working”.
The US
US workers were significantly less likely to take sick days, according to data compiled by the Bureau of Labour Statistics.
The department recorded that, in 2023, the absence rate among workers was 2.1 per cent – roughly equivalent to 5.5 sick days.
The US did see a spike in sick leave during the pandemic, with the absentee rate rising to a peak of 2.6 per cent.
Workers in the US have far fewer protections than many in Europe. There is no federal law mandating paid sick leave for private sector employees.
A report on New South Wales’s public sector found that workers took an average of 8.3 days’ sick leave from 2022 to 2023, with a steady increase since the pandemic.
A report by the Australian Human Resources Institute, conducted in 2015, found that the average worker took 8.8 days of unscheduled absences.
Full-time employees in Australia get ten days of paid sick leave a year, while it’s pro-rata for part-time workers.
France
Europe’s third-biggest economy suffers from an absentee rate of 4.5 per cent, according to a report by insurance company AXA.
The insurer’s research found the rate rose from 3.2 per cent pre-pandemic to 4.5 per cent in 2022, where it remains.
Based on an estimated 228 working days per year (excluding weekends, public holidays and annual leave) this comes to 10.8 sick days a year on average.
French employees taking sick leave receive 50 per cent of their daily basic wage for the first six months, and must meet further criteria to receive pay after that.
Germans take 20 days off sick every year, according to the research from the health insurer DAK.
Read Next
square MARK WALLACERead More
The World Health Organisation (WHO) consistently ranks German workers as the most likely to take time off work due to illness.
German workers took an average of 24.9 days off sick in 2022, according to the WHO’s most recent data.
Pre-pandemic, this figure was around 19.9 days and remained roughly the same up until 2022.
Germans benefit from strong employment laws. They are entitled to their full salary for the first six weeks of sick leave, and around 70 per cent of their salary for up to 72 weeks off work due to the same illness.
Norway
The WHO’s latest figures show Norway has seen a steady increase in employee sick leave since the pandemic.
In 2019, the average worker was absent from work due to sickness for 15.9 days each year.
This rose by 0.9 per cent, 0.8 per cent, and 1.2 per cent in the following years, before seeing a small fall of 0.1 per cent between 2022 and 2023.
Regular employees are entitled to 16 days of paid sick leave at the rate of 100 per cent, paid by the employer. Starting on the 17th day, an employee continues to receive sick pay, but from the government.
Hence then, the article about the number of sick days taken in the uk compared to the rest of the world was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( The number of sick days taken in the UK, compared to the rest of the world )
Also on site :
- Europe’s cyber agency blames hacking gangs for massive data breach and leak
- AI companies are building huge natural gas plants to power data centers. What could go wrong?
- The Trump Dictatorship Is Cracking Up