Who’s most likely to call in sick? The UK regions ranked

We’ve made it. The long, dark days of January are behind us, pay packets have landed, and the days are finally getting that little bit brighter. Office kitchens have been buzzing with talk of Dry January, new fitness regimes and, if you’re anything like us, repeated rounds of ‘have you watched The Traitors yet?’

January often hits with a busy start after the Christmas break, which is why February is so warmly welcomed. And while the month is usually associated with Pancake Day and Valentine’s Day, there is one date managers across the UK will be keeping a particularly close eye on, National Sickie Day.

Typically falling on the first Monday of February, National Sickie Day is widely recognised as the day employees are most likely to call in sick. While figures for 2025 are not yet available, experts estimate that in 2024 alone, 1.6 million people pulled a sickie on this day, costing the UK economy millions.

There is plenty of debate around why the first Monday of February sees such a spike in sick days, but one thing is clear: taking time off work is becoming an increasingly common response for UK workers.

To understand where in the UK employees are most likely to call in sick, we analysed data from the Office for National Statistics alongside Google search trends. We then applied a calculation to this data relative to the local population in each region, producing an index score, and then ranked the scores accordingly. Where does your area rank on our list?

Scotland

The region where employees are most likely to call in sick is Scotland. In 2024 alone, Scotland recorded 13.1 million days lost to sickness absence, equating to an average of five days per worker, per year. With a sickness absence rate of 2.3%, and one of the regions with the highest volumes of ‘sick day’ searches per 100,000 employees, Scotland tops our index with a score of 8.86 out of 10.

North West

Coming in second is the North West, which narrowly trails Scotland in the rankings. In 2024, the region saw 18.1 million days lost to sickness absence, with workers taking an average of 5.0 days off per year. The North West also recorded a sickness absence rate of 2.3% and one of the highest volumes of ‘sick day’ searches per 100,000 employees at 17.7.

Wales

Wales ranks third on our list, with 7.2 million days lost to sickness absence, averaging 5.0 days per worker annually. The region mirrors both Scotland and the North West with a sickness absence rate of 2.3%, while also showing strong online interest in sick leave, with 17.1 searches for ‘sick day’ per 100,000 employees.

London

At the other end of the scale sits London. Despite losing 16.2 million working days to sickness absence in 2024, the capital recorded the lowest average days lost per worker at just 3.3 days per year. London also posted the lowest sickness absence rate in the UK at 1.5%, contributing to an index score of just 2.47 out of 10. While search interest for ‘sick day’ remains relatively high, the data suggests that London workers are significantly less likely to call in sick than those in other regions.

Our Managing Director, Sally Evans, shares her thoughts on this research:

“It’s interesting to see the average number of days UK workers are taking off due to sickness each year, as well as the trend in Google searches for sickness-related information. Factors such as stress, high workloads and burnout all likely contribute. As an employer, it’s important to ensure your staff feel comfortable communicating if they have a physical or mental illness affecting their work and put strategies in place to support them.”

If you have noticed an increase in your team taking more sick days, Sally has included her top tips on how best to approach this situation:

1. Create an environment that fosters and encourages an inclusive culture. Employees should feel welcomed, valued, empowered and appreciated. Ensure your policies are clear and fair, and that as an employer, you recognise and value differences in your team members.
2. Be mindful of the physical office environment, making accommodations to employees’ needs, such as dedicated prayer rooms, mental health areas or private rooms for breastfeeding. The best inclusive cultures ensure everyone feels listened to, action is taken where needed, input is valued and there is two-way communication between senior leaders and employees.
3. Monitor patterns and conduct return-to-work conversations. Track sick leave for patterns that may indicate specific underlying issues – certain HR platforms can help automate this analysis. Conducting return-to-work interviews after periods of sickness, or repeated absences, gives employees a chance to raise anything that’s contributed to their illness and allows you to tailor your support accordingly.
4. Empower supportive line managers. A line manager can make or break a team member’s experience of your workplace, so ensure they have the appropriate training and treat their team with dignity and respect. Empowering your line managers to make positive decisions for their team goes a long way and can encourage better performance and retention.
5. Implement mental health first aiders. This is a great way to upskill team members who are interested in supporting staff, equipping them with a framework and the knowledge to do so. Be sure to consider that a sustainable approach to employee wellbeing requires the full support of a company and isn’t the sole role of a handful of individuals. For further information, we recommend taking a look at this guidance from Mental Health First Aid England.

Methodology

Our team combined the latest sickness absence data from the ONS with Google search trend data. This combined data is relative to the population of each region and has been indexed and ranked accordingly.

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