Absenteeism Cost Calculator
Calculate the annual cost of employee absenteeism to your organisation. Includes direct salary costs, indirect costs, and comparison to CIPD benchmarks. For HR and finance teams.
All calculations run instantly in your browser. No data is sent to any server.
Disclaimer: Results are for informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Consult a qualified healthcare professional for personal guidance.
Direct vs. Indirect Costs
| Cost type | What it includes |
|---|---|
| Direct | Salary paid during absence, SSP/occupational sick pay |
| Replacement | Agency cover, overtime premium, temp staff |
| Management | Return-to-work interviews, admin, HR time |
| Productivity loss | Output gap, delayed projects, customer impact |
Sector Benchmarks (CIPD 2023)
Average UK sick days by sector: Healthcare/social care: 10.6 days. Public sector: 9.1 days. Retail/hospitality: 7.7 days. Manufacturing: 7.4 days. Finance/insurance: 6.4 days. Technology: 5.4 days. If your organisation is above sector average, investigating the root causes — workload, management quality, physical environment, mental health — typically yields the highest returns.
FAQs
How much does absenteeism cost UK employers?
Direct: $3.7bn/year. Total including indirect: $25.9bn/year (Vitality, 2023). Average: 7.8 sick days/employee/year (CIPD, 2023). Mental health = ~50% of long-term absence.
Absenteeism vs. presenteeism?
Presenteeism costs more: $25.7bn vs $7bn annually (Vitality, 2023). Present-but-unwell employees produce lower quality work and can spread illness through teams.