But the number of days lost per worker, at 5.7, was not a record.
The sickness absence rate, the percentage of working hours lost because of sickness or injury rose to 2.6 per cent in 2022, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from 2021 and the highest it has been since 2004, when it was 2.7 per cent.
London had the lowest sickness absence rate, followed by the Eastern region, and South East, with the highest number in Wales, followed by the North East and Scotland.
ONS head of labour market and household statistics David Freeman said: “Sickness absence rose again in 2022, so that the proportion of working hours lost was the highest since 2004.
This comes after it dropped to its lowest ever rate at the start of the pandemic, when lockdown and furloughing reduced people’s exposure to minor illnesses.
“Because the working population is much bigger now than it was nearly twenty years ago, in 2022 the total number of working days lost was the highest on record.”
The most common reason for sickness absence was minor illnesses, accounting for 29.3 per cent of occurrences.
All age groups experienced increases in their sickness absence rate in 2022.
The ONS added that groups with the highest rates of sickness absence in 2022 included women, older workers, those with long-term health conditions, people working part-time, and people working in care, leisure, or other service occupations.
