More than half of all employees have been made redundant or suffered long-term illness during their working life, MetLife Employee Benefits has found.
Its nationwide study showed 32% of workers have suffered redundancy - more than 9.3 million staff - while 23% (6.7 million) have been off work for periods longer than four weeks.
Men are more likely to have suffered redundancy with 36% of male employees losing their jobs compared to 27% of female staff while women are more likely to have suffered long-term illness with 26% of female staff being forced to take time off compared with 21% of men.
MetLife believes the research highlights the value of insurance to protect income - particularly as its research shows 41% of workers admit they could not afford to live on Statutory Sick Pay which is currently £86.70 a week. Another 18% believe they could survive a month.
Tom Gaynor, employee benefits director at MetLife UK, said: "The ongoing tough economic climate has increased the financial pressures on all workers and the risk of redundancy through no fault of your own is real with a third of workers suffering redundancy during their working career."
Workers in Scotland reported the highest rate of long-term ill health at 28% falling to 18% - the lowest rate - for those living in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
But workers in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire are the most likely to have suffered redundancy with 39% reporting losing their jobs, while employees in London are the least likely to be made redundant at 21%.
