North West places on list of most likely to ring in sick to work

The research, conducted by personal injury experts claims.co.uk, analysed the Office for National Statistics’ sickness absence data from 2018 - 2022 to reveal which demographics are most likely to miss work, and identify the most common reasons for doing so.

Every year, the UK workforce loses on average 146.6 million days due to sickness, which equates to approximately 4.5 days per worker – or almost a full working week.

Those living in the North-West placed fourth with 16.5 million annual working days lost.

With January in full swing, employers pay particular attention to absences as workers contend with flu season, as well as post-holiday blues and holiday-related illnesses.

Minor illnesses such as coughs, colds, flu and sickness were the most common reasons for calling in sick.

And some regions are more likely to call in sick than others, the data shows, with workers in the North East reporting the highest sickness absence rate with 6.2 million annual working days lost.

The region – which covers County Durham, Northumberland, Tyne-and-Wear, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, and Sunderland – loses an average of 5.1 days per worker annually. This equates to approximately 6.2 million days yearly - a 48 per cent increase compared to 2018.

The East Midlands is second most likely to call in sick, with 4.9 days lost per worker annually. This equates to 11.4 million days lost each year, with the region comprising of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, and Rutland.

Third is the Yorkshire and The Humberside with an annual average of 4.8 days lost per worker. This area includes Bradford, Calderdale, Doncaster, Hull, Leeds, North Lincolnshire, Sheffield, Wakefield and York. This equates to a loss of 12.5 million days each year.

Interestingly, workers in Wales took more days off than any other UK country. Wales loses approximately 5.9 days per worker each year, while Scotland (4.8), England (4.4), and Northern Ireland (4.4) lose considerably less.

With regards to gender, women were found to call in sick for 2.6 per cent of their working days a year – which is a 49.4 per cent increase compared to men.

The data also found that workers aged between 50 and 64 are more likely to call in sick than any other age group, with an average of 56.3 million total days lost per year. Per worker, this works out to approximately 6.1 lost days annually.

Interestingly, the 16 to 24 age group have only lost an estimated 10.2 million days per year – which is 65.2 per cent lower than to the average.