The total cost of workplace-related injuries and ill health stood at £22.9 billion in 2023/24, according to latest data from the Government’s Health & Safety Executive department.
HSE data also show that around 40.1m working days were lost to ill health in 2024/25.
Of the total cost, the HSE says £16.4bn came from cases of work-related ill health, excluding long latency illness such as cancer, with 730,000 workers suffering from a new case of work-related ill health in 2024/25.
In total 35.7 million working days (of the total 40.1 million) were lost due to work-related ill health over this period.
Analysis by consultants Broadstone shows this cost is borne by a mixture of individuals, employers and the state, or taxpayer, — and include both financial costs (covering loss of output, healthcare costs and other payments made) and human costs (the monetary valuation given to pain, grief, suffering and loss of life).
Broadstone head of health & protection Brett Hill says: “These figures demonstrate the immense burden that ill-health, in particular, is having on the UK economy, employers and individuals.
“Hundreds of thousands of people every year are suffering new cases of ill-health that are costing the economy and billions of pounds a year as well as inflicting immense personal pain.
“It is a reminder of the importance of employers implementing proactive healthcare strategies, such as occupational health programmes, that can protect the health of their workforce to avoid costly absenteeism through illness or injury.
“With NHS waiting lists still at record levels and unlikely to materially improve in the short-term, businesses must increasingly shoulder the burden of maintaining the health of their staff, with a clear focus on prevention and early intervention.”
