If the government is serious about stemming the flow of those suffering with ill health from leaving the labour market, it will need to embrace ‘ambitious reforms’, a think thank has warned.

There have also been calls for the government to embrace the idea of a national ‘Health at Work’ standard, as originally proposed by the previous Sunak administration.

Keep Britain Working review

Keep Britain Working review urging employers to ‘tell us what works’

UK is only advanced economy where economic inactivity is increasing

Keep Britain Working review ‘opportunity to reset’ workforce health

In response to the ‘discovery phase’ report of the Keep Britain Working review published earlier this week, Ben Harrison, director of the Work Foundation at Lancaster University, said its longitudinal analysis had shown that early intervention and flexibility are key to supporting workers with health conditions to remain in work.

“Nearly one in ten employees (9%) who had experienced a decline in health had left work within four years – and half of those were within the first year. In addition, workers without flexibility in their job roles were four times more likely to leave work after a health decline,” he argued.

“The findings of the Keep Britain Working Discovery Report from Sir Charlie Mayfield provide an important reminder that ambitious reforms will be required to stem the flow of those suffering with ill health leaving the labour market.

“As Sir Charlie points out, some UK employers are opting to let workers with ill health leave and find a new replacement rather than attempt to retain them. The Keep Britain Working Review must seek solutions to address this. Our research has found an ‘awareness to action gap’ amongst UK employers when it comes to addressing ill health at work – many recognise the challenge but cite insufficient resources to act,” Harrison added.

“The report rightly points out the specific challenges facing different worker groups, including young people. The review should focus on how employers could be incentivised to support workers, such as through an extended employer duty of care, subsidising the cost of long-term sickness absence, and supporting additional vocational rehabilitation.

“If this review is to be truly successful and help support the government’s economic growth ambitions, it must be the start of a national reset on workforce health supported by both government and employers,” he said.

Becci Newton, director of public policy research at the Institute for Employment Studies, said the review report “diagnoses the issues well”. In other words, “that we cannot achieve change in the worklessness stats without concerted effort at a systems level to support employers and individuals to achieve better work outcomes.”

Newton added that the engagement of employers in this was crucial. “They need information to support them in making employment work for people with health conditions.

“At a systems level the join up between health and employment systems is critical including a greater focus on what people can do rather than what they can’t. What we know is primary care is too stretched. A refreshed approach is much needed,” Newton said.

Mental Health First Aid England chief executive Sarah McIntosh welcomed the focus on prevention in the report. “The review’s emphasis on good management, workplace flexibility, and creating supportive environments aligns with our belief that prevention is better than cure,” she said.

“We back its call for evidence on increasing incentives for businesses to retain employees. We believe that improved knowledge and understanding of mental health will be fundamental to achieving this.

“We also welcome the focus on reducing the distance between employers and employees on sick leave. Too often, a breakdown in communication exacerbates absence and makes returning to work more difficult. Training people managers to have confident, compassionate conversations about mental health can bridge this gap and encourage early intervention.

“The Keep Britain Working Review presents an opportunity to create lasting change. MHFA England is ready to play our part in ensuring that mental health remains at the heart of the conversation on employment and economic activity,” McIntosh added.

Steve Bridger, managing director at health insurer Aviva Health, said that, as the review has urged, it would be “sharing best practice on what works for us as an employer, and an insurer in keeping employees healthy and helping them to return to and stay in work following illness.”

He added: “The vocational rehabilitation model provided via insurance uses a case management approach, brings in clinical and vocational experts, and works with both the employer and employee to agree on workplace adjustments, regularly review progress, and ensure appropriate support is in place to help them stay at work.

“We agree with Sir Charlie that the government has a responsibility to encourage, champion, and support effective practices, especially in terms of prevention.

“We believe that in times of financial challenges, the government can achieve improvements in workplace health by asking large employers to be transparent about their workplace health support. For smaller employers, there should be a national ‘Health at Work’ standard and better access to guidance on best practices.

“This approach would enhance workplace health standards by making them open-source and competitive for larger employers, while providing smaller employers with a benchmark to aim for, along with appropriate support,” Bridger said.

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