The number of people on long-term sick leave has reached a record high, according to new Office for National Statistics figures. Between June and August 2022, around 2.5 million people reported long-term sickness as the main reason for economic inactivity, up from around two million in 2019.

This rise in long-term sickness actually started before the COVID-19 pandemic, but since the pandemic hit the UK in early 2020, the number of people out of work because of long-term sickness has risen by 363,000.

A range of factors could be influencing this recent increase.

Comparing Quarter 2 (April to June) in both 2019 and 2022, the number of people inactive because of long-term sickness who reported their main health condition as “other health problems or disabilities” rose by 97,000 (41%), the largest of any category.

Between Quarter 2 in both 2019 and 2022, the number of economically inactive people who reported problems or disabilities connected with the back or neck rose by 62,000 (31%), the second largest increase after “other conditions”. The biggest year-on-year increase was between 2021 and 2022; it is possible that increased homeworking since the pandemic has given rise to these kinds of chronic conditions.

The number of economically inactive people reporting depression, bad nerves and anxiety as their main health condition has returned to pre-pandemic levels, after increases in 2020 and 2021. However, the number reporting mental illness and nervous disorders has risen by 22% over the same period, with the sharpest increases seen after 2020.

While symptoms of long Covid may not be the only contributor to increased long-term sickness in the working-age population, the pandemic’s wider impact on health is still likely to be an important factor in increased long-term sickness.

While older people still make up the majority of those inactive because of long-term sickness, the largest relative increases in recent years have been among those aged 25 to 34 years.

Adults aged over 50 years have been the main contributors to increases in economic inactivity for all reasons seen in recent years.

However, the biggest relative increase was seen among those aged 25 to 34 years, who made up 11% of those inactive because of long-term sickness in April to June 2019, and 14% in the same period in 2022 (97,000 more). Of these, nearly 60,000 (61%) were men.

There is a lot more to be understood about rising ill health in the UK working-age population, but it is not possible to assign trends in recent years wholly to one reason. With younger people seeing some of the largest relative increases, and some industries affected to a greater extent than others, it could be that a range of other factors, such as working environment, are also playing a role. Further work is required to consider a range of factors and the extent to which they are driving higher rates of economic inactivity.

Responding to the announcement that a record number of people in the UK are not working due to long-term sickness, IOSH Head of Policy Ruth Wilkinson said:

"We know that being in good work is good for people so it's a concern that so many are on long-term sick and, as such, economically inactive. There is a huge role here for employers to play, in providing good and decent work by putting in place the right policies and processes and exploring and providing any adjustments they can make to the workplace, to working arrangements, or through the provision of equipment, support or services to accommodate people's needs. This will help people to work, to stay in work, to return to work and perform to the best of their ability, which can only be good for the employer, as well as for the employee and the economy.

“There’s much work to be done here to find the workers the UK economy needs to thrive and deliver a decent quality of life and decent, sustainable work for everyone. Plans should focus on helping workers, including, disabled people and those with limiting health conditions to enable them to gain paid work. These individuals have so much to offer – for themselves, their families and for us all.”

Commenting in International Workplace’s Wellbeing in the Workplace: a Line Manager’s Guide, Health and Safety Trainer Jamie Robinson talked about the role that organisations must play in tackling sickness absence.

He said:

“All organisations have a duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees. This duty includes the provision for providing a good quality of working life and creating a good work environment.

“For an organisation to successfully influence health and wellbeing in the workplace, it must recognise and support the key role that line managers play as the frontline representative of the organisation. Managers should be given adequate time, training and resources to ensure they balance the aims of the organisation with concern for the health and wellbeing of employees. An organisation should also regularly seek the views of line managers on staff morale and human resource issues.

“Managers provide a two-way communication link between the workforce and the organisation, supporting workers to perform at their best and informing the organisation about staff morale, health and wellbeing. Line managers also play an important role in protecting and promoting the health and wellbeing of the workforce through involvement in job design, person specifications, work meetings, appraisals or informal chats about progress to discover any problems an employee may be having.”

Research shows that being in work is generally good for people’s health and wellbeing, and being out of work is detrimental to it. A study in 2006 concluded:

“There is a strong evidence base showing that work is generally good for physical and mental health and wellbeing. Worklessness is associated with poorer physical and mental health and wellbeing. Work can be therapeutic and can reverse the adverse health effects of unemployment. That is true for healthy people of working age, for many disabled people, for most people with common health problems and for social security beneficiaries.

“The provisos are that account must be taken of the nature and quality of work and its social context; jobs should be safe and accommodating. Overall, the beneficial effects of work outweigh the risks of work and are greater than the harmful effects of long-term unemployment or prolonged sickness absence. Work is generally good for health and wellbeing.”