Hidden cost of UK workplace sickness rockets to £100bn a year, report finds

Most of the increased cost to businesses was owing to lower productivity with employees working while ill. Photograph: Oleksiy Boyko/Alamy

The hidden cost of rising workplace sickness in the UK has increased to more than £100bn a year, largely caused by a loss of productivity amid “staggering” levels of presenteeism, a report warns.

Analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) shows the cost of staff sickness has grown by £30bn a year to £103bn in 2023. The annual bill was £73bn in 2018, its study found.