UK hits 5m mental health sick days in 2026 – what can SMEs do about it?

As reforms to statutory sick pay (SSP) threaten business budgets and productivity, new data published last week reveals that UK workers have taken more than 5 million sick days off since the start of the year.

The research revealed that 30% of employees have suffered from depression or anxiety in the past year, and one in four (25%) say that they have felt stress or burnout. 

This equates to time away from work, and by 24 March – the 58th working day of the year – the estimated total number of sick days taken this year reached 5,066,403.

Mental health pandemic

Simplyhealth commissioned an Opinium poll of 2,000 working adults from across the UK. They found concerningly high numbers of sick days are being taken off for anxiety, depression and burnout across every age group.

Unfortunately, however, it is 18-34-year-old workers who are driving this. One in five reported that they’d taken time off in the past year for anxiety or depression, while a similar percentage (21%) of days were also taken off due to stress or burnout.

The figures are lower for 35-54-year-olds. It was 13% taking time off for anxiety or depression in this age bracket, while 10% for stress or burnout. The figures are less than half for workers aged 55 or above. Around one in twenty workers aged 55 and over took time off for anxiety or depression (7%) and 4% for stress or burnout.

Time lost

For businesses, the cost is time lost, with employees unable to carry out their roles, as well as mounting concerns about their welfare. 

Overall, the average worker has had 7.1 days off over the last year for depression or anxiety, while stress and burnout were to blame for another 5.9 days on average. 

18-34 year olds took an average of 5.5 days off last year for depression and anxiety, as well as 3.8 days for stress and burnout. 

Interestingly, the amount of time off taken by the older age groups was actually longer. 

The 35-54 year olds who took time off from anxiety or depression in the last year were away from work for 8.3 days, while those who took time off for stress and burnout took an average of 8.5 days.

These figures go up again for workers aged 55 or over. Those suffering from depression and anxiety took an average of 9.7 days off work, while those who experienced stress and burnout in the past year took 10.3 days off work. 

As Simplyhealth notes, this suggests “older workers are more likely to take sick leave when mental ill-health approaches more of a crisis point” than their younger co-workers.

Adaptive care and the right solutions

Paul Schreier, CEO at Simplyhealth, says that businesses must be mindful of these differences when creating mental health support plans for their workplace. 

He states: “The findings underline how mental health does not have a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution, with symptoms presenting differently and often in conjunction with other conditions. It’s a reminder for the need to offer a range of support options that are flexible and tailored to employees’ different life stages.”

Bree Rhodes-Wort, Clinical Product Manager at Simplyhealth, says that dialogue is absolutely key. “Open communication remains one of the most effective tools to support workers of all ages. By equipping managers with the confidence and skills to talk about mental health, and by fostering a safe, supportive culture, employees are more likely to share their concerns and feel supported by their teams,” she says.

Accessing the right professionals for the employee’s situation is also essential. MYNDUP, which featured on this year’s Startups100, is a testament to this. Founded by Joel Gujral after spending eight months in and out of the hospital with an undiagnosed health condition, the venture offers businesses access to a huge range of professional mental health services for their employees.

MYNDUP says its services can reduce average sick days by an average of 4.3 per employee, per year, which illustrates perfectly how investing in the right mental health support doesn’t just benefit employees, but the businesses they work for, too.