Work-Related Ill Health Statistics UK: 2026 Facts, Data & Key Insights

Work-Related Ill Health Statistics UK

Work-related ill health is the biggest occupational health challenge facing the UK. It affects far more workers than physical injuries, generates far more lost working days, and costs the economy far more money — yet it receives considerably less attention in workplace safety conversations.

The term covers a wide spectrum of conditions: stress, depression and anxiety caused or worsened by work; musculoskeletal disorders from manual handling and repetitive tasks; respiratory diseases from exposure to dusts, fumes, and hazardous substances; skin conditions; noise-induced hearing loss; and a range of other conditions linked to occupational exposures.

What unites them is that they are, in large part, preventable. The HSE's data consistently shows that the causes of work-related ill health are well understood, and that employers with strong risk management practices see significantly lower rates of occupational illness across all categories.

This guide brings together the latest verified UK work-related ill health statistics from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the TUC, NHS England, and other authoritative sources — covering prevalence, working days lost, costs, the industries most affected, and the evidence on what works.

Key Facts & Figures (Overview)

• An estimated 1.9 million workers suffered from work-related ill health (new or long-standing) in 2024/25 — the highest figure on record, up from 1.7 million the previous year.
• This equates to a prevalence rate of 5,360 cases per 100,000 workers — above pre-pandemic levels and among the highest recorded.
• 730,000 new cases of work-related ill health were recorded in 2024/25, up from 609,000 the year before.
• Work-related ill health resulted in 35.7 million lost working days in 2024/25 — compared to just 4.4 million days lost to non-fatal physical injuries, making ill health the dominant cause of workplace absence by a significant margin.
• Stress, depression and anxiety account for 52% of all work-related ill health — the largest single category, affecting 964,000 workers at a record high.
• Musculoskeletal disorders account for a further 27% of cases, affecting 511,000 workers.
• The remaining 21% covers other types of ill health including respiratory conditions, skin disorders, hearing loss, and other occupational diseases.
• The total cost of workplace injuries and new work-related ill health cases is estimated at £22.9 billion per year — of which ill health accounts for 72% of the total burden.
• An estimated 11,000 people die every year from occupational lung diseases linked to past workplace exposures — far exceeding the 124 accident fatalities recorded in 2024/25.

How Many Workers Are Affected?

The scale of work-related ill health in the UK is substantial, and the trend is moving in the wrong direction:

• 1.9 million workers are currently suffering from a work-related illness (new or long-standing) in 2024/25 — a significant increase from 1.7 million the previous year and the highest total on record.
• The rate of work-related ill health stands at 5,360 per 100,000 workers — higher than at any point before the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 730,000 new cases of work-related ill health began in 2024/25, up from 609,000 the year before — a rise of nearly 20% in a single year.
• Work-related ill health is not only more prevalent than physical workplace injury — it is also significantly more consequential in terms of lost working time. The 35.7 million working days lost to ill health in 2024/25 dwarfs the 4.4 million days lost to non-fatal injuries, by a ratio of more than eight to one.
• Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of self-reported work-related ill health had been broadly flat. Since 2020, rates have been consistently above pre-pandemic 2018/19 levels, and the 2024/25 figure is the highest since records began.
• The HSE's 10-year strategy (2022–2032) explicitly identifies work-related ill health — and mental health in particular — as its primary focus, reflecting the scale of the challenge and a recognition that physical injury prevention alone is no longer sufficient.

The Three Main Categories of Work-Related Ill Health

Work-related ill health is typically grouped into three broad categories in HSE reporting, each with distinct causes, affected industries, and prevention requirements.

Stress, depression and anxiety: 52% of all cases — 964,000 workers. The largest and fastest-growing category, driven by workload, management practices, job insecurity, and organisational culture. Currently at a record high.

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs): 27% of all cases — 511,000 workers. Covering back pain, upper limb disorders, neck conditions, and joint problems caused or worsened by manual handling, repetitive tasks, awkward postures, and vibration exposure.

Other ill health: 21% of all cases — covering occupational respiratory disease, skin conditions, noise-induced hearing loss, occupational cancer, and other conditions caused by hazardous substance exposure.

Each of these categories is explored in detail in the sections that follow.

Work-Related Stress, Depression and Anxiety

Stress, depression and anxiety have become the dominant work-related ill health issue in the UK — affecting more workers, generating more lost working days, and growing faster than any other category.

Scale and trend:

• In 2024/25, 964,000 workers experienced work-related stress, depression or anxiety — a record high, up from 776,000 the previous year. This is the largest single-year increase on record.
• Work-related stress accounts for 52% of all work-related ill health cases in Great Britain.
• 22.1 million working days were lost to work-related stress, depression and anxiety in 2024/25 — up from 16.4 million the previous year, a rise of 35% in a single year.
• This means that on average, each affected worker loses approximately 23 working days per stress-related ill health case — significantly more than any other category.
• Stress-related absence is not only increasing in volume, but in severity. Workers are taking more time off per case on average, suggesting that conditions are becoming more acute and harder to manage before they reach crisis point.

Who is most affected:

• Sectors with statistically higher rates of work-related stress than the all-industry average include public administration and defence, education, and human health and social work.
• The TUC's 2025 survey of union safety representatives — covering over 2,700 reps across Britain — found that 79% cited stress as one of the main concerns at their workplace, the highest figure ever recorded and above all other hazards.
• Stress was reported as the top concern in every region of Britain and in almost every industrial sector, with particularly sharp levels in central government (80%), education (74%), health (68%), and the voluntary sector (71%).
• Workload is the most commonly cited cause of work-related stress, identified by 60% of union reps surveyed.
• Two thirds of safety reps said they were not aware of any stress risk assessment having been carried out in their workplace — indicating widespread non-compliance with the legal duty to manage stress as a workplace hazard.
• Workers aged 35–54 are the most affected age group, with women in this cohort reporting particularly high levels of daily stress.
• Approximately 35% of UK workers report that their job negatively impacts their mental health.
• An estimated 21% of workers say that high stress or pressure has directly reduced their productivity.

Causes identified by workers:The HSE's Management Standards framework identifies six key areas that, when poorly managed, cause work-related stress: demands (workload, work patterns, environment), control (how much say workers have), support (encouragement and resources), relationships (avoiding conflict, dealing with unacceptable behaviour), role (clarity of role and responsibilities), and change (how organisational change is managed and communicated).

Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs)

Musculoskeletal disorders are the second largest category of work-related ill health, affecting over half a million workers and generating millions of lost working days every year. They are covered in depth in our dedicated MSD statistics guide, but the key figures are as follows:

• 511,000 workers were suffering from a work-related MSD in 2024/25, accounting for 27% of all work-related ill health cases.
• Work-related MSDs caused 7.1 million lost working days in 2024/25, with each affected worker losing an average of 14 days.
• While total MSD cases fell slightly from 543,000, new cases actually increased from 168,000 to 173,000 — signalling that prevention efforts are not keeping pace with new exposures.
• Back injuries account for 43% of all work-related MSD cases, with back-related conditions responsible for 41% of all MSD-related working days lost.
• Upper limb and neck conditions account for 41% of cases and are growing as repetitive tasks, DSE use, and hybrid working create new cumulative strain risks.
• Manual handling — lifting, carrying, pushing and pulling — is the single most clinically identified cause of work-related MSDs, identified by the THOR-GP medical reporting network as the leading occupational risk factor.
• Sectors with the highest rates include construction, agriculture, human health and social work, transport and storage, and manufacturing.

Occupational Respiratory Disease

Occupational respiratory disease represents the most serious long-term category of work-related ill health, with thousands of deaths each year attributable to past workplace exposures:

• An estimated 11,000 people die every year from occupational lung diseases linked to past workplace exposures — dwarfing the 124 workers killed in workplace accidents in 2024/25.
• The breakdown of occupational lung disease deaths is: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): 35%, non-asbestos related lung cancer: 23%, asbestos-related lung cancer: 20%, mesothelioma: 20%, and other diseases: 3%.
• In 2024/25, an estimated 22,000 new cases of work-related breathing or lung problems were recorded — conditions either caused or made worse by occupational exposures.
• Approximately 49,000 workers are currently suffering from a work-related breathing or lung problem, based on the latest three-year average from the Labour Force Survey.
• The prevalence rate for work-related breathing problems has fallen significantly over recent decades — from around 200 cases per 100,000 workers in the early 2000s to approximately 140 per 100,000 in the most recent data — reflecting improvements in dust and fume control across many industries.
• Mesothelioma — caused almost exclusively by past asbestos exposure — killed 2,218 people in 2023, and a similar number of lung cancer deaths are linked to past asbestos exposure. These deaths reflect exposures that typically occurred before the 1980s; annual numbers are projected to continue declining.
• Occupational asthma remains a significant concern. The British Thoracic Society estimates that one in six cases of adult-onset asthma is attributable to occupational causes. The occupations with the highest rates include bakers and flour confectioners, vehicle paint sprayers, and workers in chemical and plastics manufacturing.
• Rates of self-reported work-related breathing problems have broadly stabilised since 2010, though the true burden is likely underestimated due to low awareness of occupational causes among both workers and GPs.
• Silicosis — caused by inhaling respirable crystalline silica dust — has been identified as a re-emerging occupational health risk, particularly in construction and engineered stone worktop manufacturing. Several deaths among relatively young workers in the engineered stone sector have prompted regulatory action from the HSE.

Working Days Lost to Work-Related Ill Health

The productivity impact of work-related ill health on the UK economy is enormous — and growing:

• Work-related ill health caused 35.7 million lost working days in 2024/25, up from 29.6 million the previous year — an increase of approximately 20% in a single year.
• By comparison, non-fatal workplace injuries resulted in just 4.4 million lost working days — meaning ill health generates more than eight times as many lost days as physical injury.
• Stress, depression and anxiety accounted for 22.1 million of those days — by far the single largest contributor, and up from 16.4 million the previous year.
• MSDs accounted for 7.1 million working days lost.
• The remaining approximately 6.5 million days were lost to other types of work-related ill health.
• Across both ill health and injury combined, 40.1 million working days were lost in 2024/25 — the highest total in recent years.
• These figures capture only certified absence. The cost of presenteeism — reduced productivity among workers who remain at work while unwell — is estimated to substantially exceed the cost of absence. Research suggests stressed employees are up to 60% more likely to make errors and 50% less productive than their unstressed counterparts.
• The average UK business is estimated to lose £1,300 per employee per year due to stress-related absence, with some sectors reporting costs up to £2,500 per employee.

The Cost of Work-Related Ill Health

Work-related ill health imposes a substantial financial burden at every level of the economy:

• The total estimated cost of workplace injuries and new cases of work-related ill health is £22.9 billion per year (2023/24 reference year), with ill health accounting for 72% of the total — approximately £16.5 billion.
• Of the total £22.9 billion cost, the burden is distributed as follows: individuals bear the largest share at £13.4 billion, employers bear £5.2 billion, and the government bears £4.3 billion through NHS treatment, welfare payments, and lost tax revenues.
• This figure excludes long-latency illnesses such as cancer — meaning the 11,000 annual deaths from occupational lung disease and their associated costs are not captured in the headline figure.
• Poor mental health alone is estimated to cost UK employers £45 billion per year when presenteeism, staff turnover, and reduced engagement are included alongside sickness absence.
• The average worker affected by stress, depression or anxiety loses approximately 23 working days per year — at a mean salary cost to employers far exceeding any other category of workplace ill health.
• Investment in prevention generates strong returns. Organisations that implement evidence-based stress management programmes, ergonomic improvements, and occupational health support consistently report measurable reductions in absence costs, turnover, and productivity loss.

Which Industries Are Most Affected?

Work-related ill health does not affect all industries equally. The HSE identifies statistically higher rates in specific sectors for each category of ill health.

Stress, depression and anxiety — highest rates in:

• Public administration and defence
• Education
• Human health and social work

These three sectors share high public-facing demands, significant workload pressures, staffing challenges, and in many cases exposure to traumatic or emotionally distressing situations. Stress rates in healthcare and education in particular have risen sharply since the pandemic.

Musculoskeletal disorders — highest rates in:

• Agriculture, forestry and fishing
• Construction
• Human health and social work
• Transportation and storage
• Manufacturing

These sectors are characterised by manual handling, sustained or awkward postures, repetitive tasks, vibration exposure, and physically demanding work. In construction, 52% of MSDs are directly linked to manual handling.

Respiratory and other occupational diseases — highest exposure in:

• Construction (asbestos, silica dust, wood dust, fumes)
• Manufacturing (chemical exposures, fumes, dusts)
• Agriculture (grain dust, pesticides, organic materials)
• Bakery and food production (flour dust, enzyme improvers)
• Automotive (vehicle paint sprayers — among the highest occupational asthma rates)

Overall ill health — highest combined rates in:

• Public administration, education, and human health/social work show statistically higher rates of work-related ill health than the all-industry average across all conditions combined.

Long-Term Trends: Is It Getting Worse?

The long-term picture on work-related ill health is concerning. While occupational injury rates have fallen substantially over recent decades, work-related ill health has proved far more resistant to improvement:

• Before the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of self-reported work-related ill health had been broadly flat for several years, following a period of gradual improvement in the 2010s.
• Since the pandemic, rates have been consistently above pre-2020 levels in every year, with the 2024/25 figure the highest on record.
• New cases of work-related ill health increased sharply — from 609,000 to 730,000 in a single year — suggesting the problem is getting worse, not stabilising.
• Stress, depression and anxiety hit a record high of 964,000 cases in 2024/25, having risen from 776,000 the previous year. The TUC has described this as a national crisis.
• MSDs showed a slight reduction in total cases but an increase in new cases, suggesting a continuing flow of new conditions even as some existing cases resolve.
• Respiratory disease rates have broadly improved over recent decades due to better dust and fume controls, though progress has stalled and silicosis is re-emerging as a concern in new industries.
• Working days lost to ill health increased by approximately 20% in a single year (2024/25 vs 2023/24), a dramatic acceleration that points to conditions becoming more severe as well as more prevalent.
• The HSE has increased its inspection activity specifically targeting work-related ill health risks, with a particular focus on psychological health alongside physical hazards, and has signalled a tougher enforcement stance for employers who fail to assess and address stress risks.

Who Bears the Cost?

Understanding who pays for work-related ill health is important for making the business case for prevention:

• Individuals bear the largest share of the total cost — £13.4 billion — through income loss, out-of-pocket healthcare costs, reduced quality of life, and in the most serious cases, permanent disability or death.
• Employers bear approximately £5.2 billion — through sick pay, reduced productivity, recruitment and retraining costs, management time, and in some cases regulatory fines and compensation claims.
• Government bears approximately £4.3 billion — through NHS treatment costs, welfare payments, and lost tax and National Insurance revenues from workers absent from employment.
• These figures represent only the costs of new ill health cases and exclude the ongoing costs of managing long-standing conditions, occupational cancers, and mesothelioma.
• The distribution of cost has important implications: because individuals bear the largest share, they have a strong personal incentive to support workplace health initiatives — yet many feel unable to raise health concerns with employers due to fears about job security or stigma.

Employer Legal Duties

Employers in the UK have a comprehensive legal framework of duties to prevent and manage work-related ill health:

• The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 — places a general duty on employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare of all employees, encompassing both physical and psychological health.
• The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 — require employers to carry out suitable and sufficient risk assessments across all workplace hazards, including stress and psychological risks. The HSE's Management Standards provide a framework for conducting stress risk assessments.
• The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 — require employers to avoid, assess, and reduce manual handling risks to prevent MSD development.
• The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) — require employers to prevent or adequately control exposure to hazardous substances, including dusts, fumes, and chemicals that cause respiratory disease and other occupational conditions.
• The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 — require employers to eliminate or reduce risks from workplace noise exposure that can cause occupational deafness.
• The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 — set legal exposure limits for hand-arm and whole-body vibration, both of which contribute to MSDs and other occupational conditions.
• The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 — require employers to assess DSE workstations and reduce risks from prolonged screen-based work, including visual fatigue, upper limb disorders, and postural problems.

The HSE has made clear that from 2026, its inspection activity will increasingly assess psychological health and stress risks alongside physical hazards — meaning employers who have not formalised their stress risk assessment process face growing regulatory exposure.

What Works: Reducing Work-Related Ill Health

Stress, Depression and Anxiety

• Conduct stress risk assessments using the HSE's Management Standards framework and act on the findings
• Ensure workload is manageable — excessive demands are the most commonly cited cause of work-related stress
• Train managers to recognise early signs of stress and have supportive, non-stigmatising conversations
• Provide access to an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) offering confidential counselling
• Address the organisational causes of stress rather than simply providing coping strategies to individuals
• Create a culture in which workers feel able to raise concerns without fear of negative consequences

Musculoskeletal Disorders

• Conduct manual handling risk assessments and provide appropriate training for all relevant roles
• Implement ergonomic controls — workstation design, mechanical aids, job rotation, rest breaks
• Address DSE workstation setup for all screen-based workers, including those working from home
• Encourage early reporting of pain and discomfort — MSDs are much easier to treat before they become chronic

Respiratory and Other Occupational Diseases

• Implement COSHH assessments for all hazardous substance exposures and apply the hierarchy of controls
• Substitute hazardous substances where possible, use engineering controls before relying on PPE
• Conduct appropriate health surveillance — lung function testing, skin checks, audiometry — for workers at risk
• Ensure workers are aware of occupational causes of conditions like asthma; early removal from exposure significantly improves outcomes

Across All Categories

• Invest in occupational health support — even access to basic occupational health advice significantly reduces the burden of work-related ill health
• Report and analyse near misses and early-stage illness trends before they develop into serious conditions
• Use HSE benchmarking data to compare your organisation's absence rates against industry averages and identify where intervention is most needed

Written by Workplace Safety Experts

This guide was produced by the team at Manual Handling Training, a UK provider of RoSPA-approved and CPD-accredited online health and safety training. While manual handling and MSDs are our core specialism, work-related ill health in its broader sense — stress, respiratory disease, hearing loss, and occupational cancer — affects the same workers and employers we serve every day. We publish data resources like this one because accurate, accessible information is foundational to better workplace health outcomes across the UK.

Sources & References

• Health and Safety Executive (HSE) – Health and Safety at Work: Summary Statistics for Great Britain 2025: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/
• HSE – Work-Related Ill Health and Occupational Disease in Great Britain: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/overview.htm
• HSE – Work-Related Stress, Depression or Anxiety Statistics in Great Britain 2025: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/stress/
• HSE – Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Statistics in Great Britain 2025: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/musculoskeletal/
• HSE – Occupational Lung Disease Statistics in Great Britain 2025: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/occupational-lung-disease/
• HSE – Costs to Great Britain of Workplace Injuries and New Cases of Work-Related Ill Health 2023/24: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/cost.htm
• Trades Union Congress (TUC) – Record Levels of Work-Related Stress in Britain's Workplaces (2025): https://www.tuc.org.uk
• HSE Working Minds Campaign – Understanding the Impact of Stress at Work: https://workright.campaign.gov.uk