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Measure
Use the same formula
Most organisations divide leavers in a year by average headcount. The CIPD figures instead track what people were doing a year apart, including those who stopped working. Check what a benchmark counts before you compare.
EHS Answers · Reading results
What is a normal staff turnover rate in the UK?
About a third of UK workers change employer or stop working within a year. How that compares with your rate depends on your sector and how you count.
The short answer
There is no single normal rate. In CIPD analysis of ONS data for 2022 and 2023, the UK average was 34%, but rates ranged from 24.5% in public administration and defence to 52.2% in accommodation and food services.
Your own figure depends on how you count leavers, your sector and your workforce. A rate shows how many people left, not why they went.
Finding the figures for your industry
The CIPD's chart shows turnover for 20 industries. Each bar splits workers into three groups a year later: those who had moved to a new employer, those who were no longer working and those who stayed. Add the first two together to get the turnover rate for that industry.
The figures cover 2022 and 2023, and no newer industry breakdown has been published.
Four checks before you compare your rate
Sector
Compare with similar businesses
Each industry figure covers a broad group. Professional services, for example, puts law and accountancy firms alongside architects and laboratories. A rate that looks high in one sector can be ordinary in another.
Trend
Watch your own direction
Your figures over time are often a better guide than a national average.
As the CIPD puts it, "The best data here is your own." A rise on last year is a prompt to investigate, not proof of a cause.
Reason
Ask who left and why
A normal rate can still include people you hoped to keep.
Look at who chose to go, which teams they came from and what they told you. Low turnover is not automatically healthy either.
Where EHS fits
A turnover rate is counted after people have gone. EHS asks how work feels while they are still with you. Each EHS Cycle asks everyone the same question, "How do you feel about working at [your organisation]?", with five labelled feelings and room to explain the answer. Asked each quarter, it gives you a trend from inside the organisation, and department views show whether one team, site or office differs from the rest.
For example, comments in one department might keep mentioning workload. A Check-in between Cycles could explore what is driving it, and the next update could explain what will change. That is an illustrative use, not evidence that turnover will fall.
EHS does not calculate your turnover rate or predict who will leave. It works alongside your HR records and exit interviews, adding a regular view of how work feels for the people who stay.
Sources: CIPD, Benchmarking employee turnover (2024), based on ONS Annual Population Survey data for January 2022 to December 2023.
Related reading
Keep exploring
Why do good employees leave?
Hear the reasons while there is still time to respond.
What can an average hide?
Explore variation with worked examples.
Explore EHS
Understand how work feels.
See how EHS brings a consistent measure, supporting feedback and a practical rhythm for response into your organisation.