Research · Labour Economics · 2026
Does Poor Health Lower
Your Hourly Pay?
Using 7,372 permanent employees from the UK's Q1 2026 Labour Force Survey, I estimate how self-reported health conditions relate to wages, and whether that gap is real or just a statistical artefact of who gets hired.
-8.5%
OLS wage penalty (limiting)
+2.2%
After selection correction
7,372
Permanent employees
0.305
Extended model R²
Who is in this study?
Permanent employees aged 21-60 with valid wage and education data, Q1 2026 QLFS.
Sample size
7,372
Permanent employees
Mean hourly wage
£22.78
Gross, Q1 2026
Limiting condition
9.9%
of sample
Work from home
30.2%
at least some of the time
Sample composition