Self-Employed People Take 35% Fewer Sick Days

Self-employed individuals have taken 35% fewer sick days than employed workers due to the potential loss of income, insurance giant MetLife UK has found.

According to its Everyday Risk Report, 13% of the UK’s workforce is self-employed, the equivalent of 4.23 million people. On average, self-employed individuals have been taking 3.9 sick days a year, compared with employed people who have taken an average of six days a year.

The survey found that self-employed individuals typically earn less at the highest levels of income than those employed. Around 69% of the self-employed earned over £30,000 a year, compared with 81% of employees. The self-employed were also unlikely to have access to paid-for sick leave, including for an unexpected accident or an illness.

Rich Horner, head of individual protection, MetLife, said: “The self-employed form a significant part of the UK workforce, but worryingly are one of the most financially vulnerable groups, particularly when it comes to any sickness or injuries.

“They do not have the same benefits in place from employers if they were to need to take time off work to recover, which explains why they take fewer sick days in a year compared to those in full time employment. Any time off work could result in a loss in income or additional financial consequences, such as needing to dip into their hard-earned savings or relying on other family members for financial support.”

The top concerns for self-employed individuals if they had to stay in hospital – other than their health – was having to take time off work (31%) and having to take unpaid time off (28%). This compared with 27% and 18% of full-time employed adults who said the same, respectively.

If they have or were to suffer from an injury or illness, one quarter of self-employed adults said they had or would have to use their savings, compared with 18% of full-time employees.

Horner said: “We know accidents can happen at any time, anywhere, and to anyone, so it’s vital people have the right protection in place to cover them for such possibilities.

“Encouragingly, there is a growing demand from this group to find cover that protects them, but it's also vital that advisers are helping to educate their self-employed clients on what protection is available to them to reduce their exposure to financial repercussions of an accident or illness.”

“The self-employed form a significant part of the UK workforce, but worryingly are one of the most financially vulnerable groups, particularly when it comes to any sickness or injuries."

Rich Horner, Head of Individual Protection at MetLife,