News & Advice

If your business is simply waiting for employees to reach a crisis point before offering help, you are likely losing thousands of pounds in lost working days, temporary cover, and eventual recruitment costs.

Now, let’s take a look at the most recent UK data to understand exactly what is keeping the workforce at home, and how a clinical, proactive approach can protect your team and your bottom line.

The 2025/2026 Reality Check: The Sickness Absence Statistics

The statistics surrounding workplace absence make for sobering reading. Recent data from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals a workforce struggling to maintain its health:

• Record High Absences: Across 2025 and 2026, the average UK employee took 9.4 days of sickness absence. This is a sharp increase from 5.8 days only a couple of years earlier in 2022. (Crossland Employment Solicitors)

• Average length of each absence from musculoskeletal injury/pain = 14 days, & mental health absence = 22.9 days (HSE 2025)

• Total Days Lost: Across the UK economy, an estimated 148.8 million working days were lost because of sickness or injury in 2025 alone.
  Sickness absence in the UK labour market – Office for National Statistics
• The Financial Burden: This stagnation in the number of days lost to ill health cost the UK economy an estimated £141 billion in 2025!

To put that into context. Here’s what £141 billion could get:

Fund the NHS for nearly nine months: With the total revenue resource use for the NHS England Group and providers for the 2026–27 financial year set at approximately £215.4 billion, £141 billion would cover the lion’s share of the entire national health budget for over eight months.

Revolutionise the UK’s green energy infrastructure: The National Energy System Operator (NESO) has estimated that network investments of roughly £89 billion are required to deliver clean power targets through the 2030s. With £141 billion, the UK could fully fund this entire electricity network overhaul, with over £50 billion to spare for further research into energy storage or grid innovation.

Build the “Northern Powerhouse Rail” three times over: The proposed budget for the Northern Powerhouse Rail project, which aims to connect major cities across the North, is capped at £45 billion. £141 billion would be enough to fund this critical regional infrastructure project in its entirety three separate times.

When we look closer at exactly why employees are taking these record numbers of days off, two clear clinical issues dominate the data: mental health conditions and musculoskeletal (MSK) problems.

 

The Impact of Mental Ill-Health

Burnout, stress, and poor mental health are no longer fringe issues. They are central to the sickness absence crisis.

• Mental ill-health is now the leading cause of long-term sickness absence, with 41% of organisations citing it within their top three causes.
• It is also the second most common cause of short-term absence, affecting 29% of organisations.
• Inability to cope with workloads stand out as the top cause of self-reported stress absence, reported by 41% of organisations dealing with stress-related leave.

 

The Ongoing Burden of Musculoskeletal (MSK) Issues

Physical pain remains a constant barrier to productivity, particularly for roles involving desk work, heavy lifting, or repetitive strain.

• Musculoskeletal problems accounted for 14.6% of all occurrences of sickness absence in 2025/26.
  Sickness absence in the UK labour market – Office for National Statistics
• Furthermore, MSK injuries, such as back pain, were identified by 31% of employers as one of the top three causes of long-term absence – CIPD

 

Why the “Sticking Plaster” Approach Fails

Many businesses offer basic Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) believing they have ticked the wellbeing box. Now, don’t get us wrong, it’s better than nothing! However, the old saying “if you’re going to do something, do it properly” springs to mind. The overwhelming majority of organisations take action to support mental health, with 43% offering access to counselling services. But what effects are these services having based on their quality and quantity?

Unlike Mental Health with an average episode of sickness lasting 22.9 days (HSE 2025), musculoskeletal injuries (eg back pain or sports injuries or worse even an accident at work) are rarer to have treatment services offered via an EAP yet they have an average episode of each absence of 14 days.

This is why, at Physiofusion, we highly recommend referral to us for any employee that goes over the average absence expected. It’s a trigger. BUT its not best practice! There are huge savings to be made with early referral to bring the company absence cost into the best performer bracket.  Importantly early referral shows employee support and there is no bigger issue currently that recruiting good skilled staff. It is false economy to pay a daily wage for zero productivity that is several multiple times more costly than the cost of a physio or mental health treatment session that provides a faster return to normal duties.

We believe in:

Expert physio. Rapid booking. Mutually agreed comms to assist employee return.

Psychotherapy rather than counselling. Rapid booking. Employee confidentially in comms but proactive approach based on proven concepts of working producing better mental health scores.

 

The Physiofusion Solution For Sickness Absence: Integrated Corporate Care

At Physiofusion, we understand that human beings are complex, and the connection between physical pain and mental distress is deeply intertwined. We offer a comprehensive, integrated approach for East Lancashire businesses:

1. Clinical Psychotherapy: Moving beyond basic counselling to resolve the root causes of anxiety, depression, and stress, reducing the likelihood of long-term mental health absence.
2. Advanced MSK Treatment: Expert physiotherapy to rapidly assess and rehabilitate musculoskeletal injuries, keeping your team physically capable and pain-free.

 

The ROI of Proactive Treatment

It costs a mere fraction of the price to provide an employee with expert clinical treatment compared to the costs associated with paying statutory sick pay (or more subject to company policy), hiring expensive temp cover, and managing the drop in team morale via increased workload and stresses. Furthermore, the cost of recruiting and training a replacement when an employee ultimately leaves due to ill-health (or the feeling of a lack of support in ill-health) far outweighs the investment in preventative care.

 

Protect Your Greatest Asset

A healthy workforce is a productive workforce. The data shows that waiting for your team to break down, or stay broken down, is an expensive strategy. By integrating expert psychotherapy and MSK care into your company’s wellbeing strategy, you are investing directly in the operational efficiency and financial health of your business.

There are no overheads for this strategy either…just pay for what you need. Its not a monthly contract. It’s a ‘Houston we have a problem’ agreement….you ask the experts….we respond.

 

Are you ready to stop paying for absenteeism and start investing in performance?

Contact the Physiofusion team today to discuss our tailored occupational health service for local businesses in Burnley and Lancashire. Let’s get your team back to their best. Use our FREE Ask A Physio service here for any questions you have.