Featured by People Management, new research from Bowmore Financial Planning reveals that employee sickness absence cost UK businesses £11.8bn in lost profits in 2025.
The figure is based on Office for National Statistics data showing that workers in the private sector took 98 million sick days during the year, at an average cost of £120 per day in lost profits — a figure drawn from the government-commissioned Keep Britain Working report.
Workers in organisations with fewer than 50 employees accounted for 47 million of those sick days, suggesting sickness absence cost SMEs alone up to £5.6bn in 2025.
Gill Millen, Managing Director at Bowmore Corporate Benefits, said:
"Waiting times to see an NHS specialist have ballooned in recent years and now sickness absence costs UK businesses billions a year. Covering for absent staff can quickly strain finances and even a few long-term absences can make it difficult to keep the business running."
For business owners and senior leaders, the scale of this challenge reinforces the value of proactive financial planning, ensuring the right structures and protections are in place well before absence places strain on the business.
People Management: Almost 150 million working days lost to sickness last year, ONS study finds
Bowmore Corporate Benefits is a trading name of Bowmore Financial Planning Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.