Source:
- Office for National Statistics – Sickness absence in the UK labour market
Notes:
- The sickness absence rate is the percentage of working hours that are lost because of sickness absence.
- The sickness absence rate is calculated for all people in employment aged 16 and over.
- Quarterly datasets were used to generate annual averages.
- The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the sickness absence data in many ways. Government policies around furloughing, homeworking, shielding, and social distancing have had an impact on estimates in 2020 and 2021. This has greater impact on the “Total days lost” and “Days lost per worker” measures, therefore the “Sickness absence rate” is the most appropriate measure to use to ensure comparability over time.
- The population totals used for the latest LFS estimates use projected growth rates from Real-Time Information (RTI) data for EU and non-EU populations based on 2021 patterns. The total population used for the LFS therefore does not take into account any changes in migration, birth rates, death rates, and so on, since June 2021, so levels estimates may be under-estimating or over-estimating the true values and should be used with caution. Estimates of rates will, however, be robust.
| Key dates | |
|---|---|
| 1992 | Black Wednesday In September 1992, the UK is forced to withdraw from the exchange rate mechanism of the European Monetary System. |
| 1993 | Bank of England Inflation Report The Bank of England publishes its first quarterly Inflation Report, now called the Monetary Policy Report. |
| 1998 | Bank of England Act Legislation granting the Bank of England full operational independence, including the setting of interest rates in order to meet the inflation target set by the Government. |
| 2007 - 2009 | Global financial crisis A severe global downturn in economic activity leading to recession in the UK. |
| 2020 | COVID-19 pandemic January 2020 saw the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the UK. |
| 2022 | Conflict in Ukraine Russia launches military action in Ukraine in February 2022. |
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