Around 84,000 people across UK industries have work-related dermatitis, and roughly 16,000 more report a work-caused skin problem every year. The key UK occupational skin disease statistics, fully sourced.
Occupational dermatitis is the UK’s most common work-related skin disease — an inflammatory skin condition caused by contact with substances at work, from cleaning chemicals and food to hairdressing products and wet cement. This page gathers the key UK statistics in one place: how many people are affected, which agents and jobs cause the most cases, and which way the numbers are moving. The figures come from HSE’s annual work-related skin disease statistics (built on the Labour Force Survey), the THOR/EPIDERM specialist surveillance schemes run by the University of Manchester, and the DWP’s Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit data.
Key facts and figures
- 84,000 people across UK industries are estimated to have work-related dermatitis.
- 16,000 people a year, on average, reported a skin problem caused or made worse by work between 2019 and 2022.
- 86% of the work-related skin disease reported by dermatologists between 2010 and 2019 was contact dermatitis.
- 876 new cases of work-related contact dermatitis were diagnosed by dermatologists in 2019.
- 1,000 nurses are estimated to develop work-related contact dermatitis every year.
- 23.4% of allergic contact dermatitis reports name rubber chemicals — the top allergen, ahead of nickel on 18.2%.
- 13% of the occupational diseases reported to HSE under RIDDOR are attributed to dermatitis.
- 6.9% a year — the average annual fall in metal-related occupational contact dermatitis between 1996 and 2019.
These are the latest published figures available as of July 2026, and this page is updated when new data is released — HSE publishes its work-related skin disease statistics annually as part of its autumn statistics cycle.
How many people have occupational dermatitis in the UK?
Around 84,000 people across all UK industries have work-related dermatitis, according to the estimate published by the British Occupational Health Research Foundation (BOHRF) and derived from HSE data. On top of that pool of existing cases, HSE’s Self-reported Work-related Illness survey — run through the Labour Force Survey — found that an average of 16,000 people a year had a skin problem they regarded as caused or made worse by work across the 2019 to 2022 survey years.
Both figures are almost certainly conservative. HSE itself notes that its two main measures — self-reported survey data for prevalence, and specialist physician reports for incidence — are each likely to underestimate the true scale of work-related skin disease in Great Britain. Many workers never connect a skin condition to their job, and milder cases are treated by GPs or not at all, so they never reach the dermatologists who report into the surveillance schemes.
| Measure | Figure | Data period |
|---|---|---|
| People with work-related dermatitis, all UK industries | ~84,000 | Current BOHRF/HSE-derived estimate |
| New self-reported skin problems caused or made worse by work | ~16,000 a year | 2019–2022 average (SWI/LFS) |
| New contact dermatitis cases diagnosed by dermatologists | ~876 | 2019 (THOR/EPIDERM) |
| Annual incidence of occupational contact dermatitis | 12.9 per 100,000 workers | EPIDERM & OPRA analysis, published 2000 |
| Contact dermatitis share of specialist-reported skin disease | 86% | 2010–2019 (EPIDERM) |
| Nurses developing work-related contact dermatitis | ~1,000 a year | Current HSE estimate |
| Dermatitis share of RIDDOR occupational disease reports | ~13% | HSE / RIDDOR |
What counts as occupational dermatitis?
Contact dermatitis made up 86% of the work-related skin disease reported by dermatologists to the EPIDERM surveillance scheme between 2010 and 2019. Across that decade, 4,698 cases of work-related skin disease were reported in total, with skin neoplasia — mostly skin cancer — accounting for 9% and contact urticaria for 3%. HSE’s own summary of the surveillance data is blunt: most recent cases of work-related skin disease seen by specialist doctors were dermatitis, and nearly all the rest were skin cancer.
Occupational dermatitis comes in two overlapping forms. Irritant contact dermatitis is direct damage to the skin from substances such as soaps, detergents, solvents and repeated wet work; HSE’s skin disease statistics attribute around 60% of contact dermatitis cases to irritants. Allergic contact dermatitis develops when the immune system becomes sensitised to a specific substance, after which even tiny exposures trigger a reaction; around 53% of cases involve an allergic mechanism. The two percentages overlap because a single case can involve both irritant and allergic components — a cleaner sensitised to a preservative in a detergent is still doing wet work with the same hands.
What is the incidence of occupational skin disease?
Occupational contact dermatitis affects an estimated 12.9 per 100,000 workers each year, according to the benchmark analysis of the EPIDERM and OPRA surveillance schemes published in 2000 — 6.4 per 100,000 from dermatologist reports plus 6.5 per 100,000 from occupational physician reports. Later THOR network data covering 2002–2005 put the average annual incidence of work-related skin disease at 91.3 per million workers, with contact dermatitis accounting for 68.0 per million of that.
In absolute terms, dermatologists diagnosed around 876 new cases of work-related contact dermatitis in 2019, the most recent year of the EPIDERM decade summary. Reporting to the schemes is voluntary — around 120 consultant dermatologists take part — so the real number of new cases each year is higher. The surveillance data is at its most reliable as a measure of trends and case-mix rather than absolute national totals, which is why HSE presents it alongside the self-reported survey figures.
What causes occupational dermatitis at work?
Irritants cause around 60% of work-related contact dermatitis, and the most routine exposures do the most damage. More than 200 cases linked simply to soaps, detergents and contact with water are reported by dermatologists and occupational physicians each year — the classic wet-work pattern. Food is another major cause: around 40% of occupational dermatitis cases are attributed to food contacting the skin, which is one reason catering features so heavily in the caseload.
For allergic contact dermatitis, THOR/EPIDERM dermatologist reports show a consistent league table of causative agents:
| Causative agent | Share of allergic contact dermatitis reports |
|---|---|
| Rubber chemicals and materials | 23.4% |
| Nickel | 18.2% |
| Epoxies and other resins | 15.6% |
| Aromatic amines | 8.6% |
| Chromium and chromates | 8.1% |
| Fragrances and cosmetics | 8.0% |
| Preservatives | 7.3% |
Every agent in that table is a substance hazardous to health, which means exposure to it at work must be assessed and controlled under the COSHH Regulations 2002 — what substances are covered by COSHH explains the scope, and the supplier’s safety data sheet is where skin sensitisation hazards are flagged.
Which jobs have the highest rates of dermatitis?
One in ten of the estimated 84,000 people with work-related dermatitis work in catering and the food industries — the single biggest occupational cluster, reflecting constant handwashing, food contact and cleaning chemicals. Health and social care runs it close: HSE estimates that around 1,000 nurses develop work-related contact dermatitis every year, driven by repeated hand hygiene, glove use and contact with cleaning and disinfection products.
The other consistently high-risk trades are hairdressing and beauty (bleaches, colourants and persulphate sensitisers on top of constant wet work), cleaning (detergents and disinfectants), construction (wet cement containing chromium VI, a skin sensitiser) and metalworking (cutting fluids and oils). The pattern shows up clearly in the surveillance data: in the THOR analysis of metal-related contact dermatitis from 1996 to 2019, the most frequently reported occupations were hairdressing, sales and retail, and nursing, and 59% of cases were women, with a mean age of 38.
Is occupational dermatitis rising or falling?
Metal-related occupational contact dermatitis fell by an average of 6.9% a year between 1996 and 2019, according to a British Journal of Dermatology analysis of THOR surveillance data published in 2024. Nickel-attributed cases declined by 6.1% a year, chromium by 7.7% and cobalt by 3.4%, with much of the fall concentrated in the earlier part of the period, from 1996 to 2007. Contact dermatitis attributed to all other agents also declined over the same 24 years, but more slowly — by 3.6% a year.
Across that study period, nickel, chromium and cobalt together accounted for 2,374 actual reported cases — an estimated 5,498 once the schemes’ sampling is adjusted for — or 11.7% of all EPIDERM cases. So the long-run picture is a sustained decline in new specialist-reported cases, even as the self-reported measure continues to generate around 16,000 new complaints a year (2019–2022 average). Falling incidence is not the same as a solved problem: dermatitis remains one of the most commonly reported occupational diseases in Great Britain.
How many dermatitis cases are reported under RIDDOR and IIDB?
Around 13% of the occupational diseases reported to HSE under RIDDOR are attributed to dermatitis, and on some measures occupational dermatitis accounts for up to 20% of all occupational disease in the UK. Occupational dermatitis is a reportable disease under RIDDOR 2013: where an employee has a written diagnosis and their work involves significant exposure to a known skin sensitiser or irritant, the employer must report it.
On the benefits side, dermatitis is prescribed disease D5 under the DWP’s Industrial Injuries scheme. Workers whose dermatitis was caused by their job can claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit where their assessed disablement reaches 14% or more, and around 10% of the cases assessed under the scheme are attributed to occupational dermatitis. The DWP publishes assessed-case counts by prescribed disease in its quarterly IIDB statistics.
For employers, these numbers translate directly into legal duties. Dermatitis-causing substances sit squarely within the COSHH Regulations 2002: they must be identified in a COSHH risk assessment, controlled following the hierarchy of control — substitution and engineering controls before gloves and skin-care regimes — and, where workers face known sensitisers or sustained wet work, backed by regular skin checks as part of health surveillance.
Frequently asked questions
How common is work-related skin disease in the UK?
Around 84,000 people across UK industries are estimated to have work-related dermatitis, and an average of 16,000 people a year (2019–2022) self-reported a skin problem caused or made worse by work. Most work-related skin disease seen by specialists is contact dermatitis; nearly all the rest is skin cancer.
Is occupational dermatitis reportable under RIDDOR?
Yes. Occupational dermatitis must be reported under RIDDOR 2013 where a worker has a written diagnosis from a doctor and their work involves significant exposure to a known skin sensitiser or irritant. Around 13% of the occupational diseases reported to HSE under RIDDOR are attributed to dermatitis.
Can workers claim benefit for occupational dermatitis?
Yes. Dermatitis is prescribed disease D5 under the Industrial Injuries scheme, so Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit is payable where a worker’s dermatitis was caused by their job and their assessed disablement is 14% or higher. Around 10% of cases under the scheme are attributed to occupational dermatitis.
Which workers are most at risk of hand dermatitis?
Wet-work trades dominate: catering and food (one in ten of all work-related dermatitis cases), healthcare (around 1,000 nurses a year), hairdressing and cleaning. More than 200 specialist-reported cases a year are linked to soaps, detergents and water contact alone, and the hands are the most commonly affected site.
Does COSHH cover occupational dermatitis?
Yes. Substances that damage or sensitise the skin — detergents, solvents, epoxy resins, wet cement, hairdressing chemicals, even prolonged wet work with water — are substances hazardous to health under COSHH, so employers must assess the risk, control exposure and train workers who handle them.
Related guides
- COSHH Statistics UK: Hazardous Substances at Work
- Silica Dust Statistics UK: Exposure, Silicosis & Deaths
- What Substances Are Covered by COSHH? (And What Isn’t)
- How to Carry Out a COSHH Risk Assessment
- The COSHH Hierarchy of Control: How to Choose Controls in the Right Order
Sources & references
- HSE — Work-related skin disease statistics in Great Britain
- HSE — Dermatitis in health and social care
- HSE — Work-related ill health and occupational disease in Great Britain
- GOV.UK — Health and Safety Statistics: 2024 to 2025 annual release
- University of Manchester — THOR/EPIDERM: The Occupational Skin Disease Surveillance scheme
- DWP — Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit quarterly statistics
- British Journal of Dermatology — Trends in occupational contact dermatitis attributed to nickel, chromium and cobalt reported to THOR, 1996–2019
- BOHRF — Occupational dermatitis
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Mark writes about workplace health & safety, COSHH and accredited online training for COSHH Training, part of Online CPD Academy.