Poorer persons in South Africa are more likely to have suffered intentional injuries and in particular injuries resulting from assaults and traffic collisions. There is a need therefore for programs aimed at improving safety in poor communities and for public health programs aimed at enhancing road safety. Absentee auditing can be particularly useful in the identification and correction of the underlying causes of these injuries and illness and in their treatment, because a relatively large number of workers have reportedly been absent from work as a result of occupational injury and illness. Given the higher incidence of occupational injury and of accidents at work amongst workers in poorer households, who are more likely to be employed in the informal sector, the expansion of occupational health and safety programs to an increasing number of workplaces and in particular to the informal economy should be a priority. The significance of alcohol dependence and of obesity in risk of illness and injury and of being absent from work as a result highlights the importance of health and wellness programs and of absentee auditing in enhancing the health of the general South African working population.