Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 February 2025 to Question 30412 on Sick Leave: Productivity, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of workplace sickness on productivity.

The Department published an estimate of the overall cost to the economy due to sickness absence in The cost of working age ill-health and disability that prevents work on 18 March 2025. The analyses do not estimate the specific impact of workplace sickness on productivity at work, but do consider the overall economic output lost as a result of sickness absence. This found that lost output due to sickness absence cost the economy between £38 billion to £56 billion in 2022. The Department currently has no plans to specifically assess the potential impact of levels of workplace sickness on productivity.