The Work Foundation at Lancaster University - a leading think tank for improving working lives - is calling for a national reset on workplace health in 2025 and warns Government and employers need to work together if the UK is to tackle the 'greatest employment challenge for a generation' and stem the flow of people leaving work due to ill health.
This comes after results from a survey of more than 1,000 senior business leaders across Great Britain, conducted by the Work Foundation at Lancaster University, reveals that two thirds of senior business leaders (64%) believe poor employee health has had a detrimental effect on their organisation's economic performance.
However, more than six in ten employers (66%) say recent Governments bear a responsibility for the health among the working age population due to inadequate healthcare provision.
Survey responses also suggest that 64% of employers believe individual workers bear responsibility for the decline in health due to unhealthy lifestyle choices. Over half of respondents (51%) say employers have a role in the decline in health due to not sufficiently supporting the health and wellbeing of their employees.
At the same time, the UK remains the only G7 country with a smaller workforce than before the Covid-19 pandemic. Analysis of Office of National Statistics (ONS) data shows that a near record 2.8 million people are economically inactive due to long-term sickness - an increase of 676,000 since December-February 2020.
Ben Harrison, Director of the Work Foundation at Lancaster University said: "The Government have called rising levels of long-term sickness the 'greatest employment challenge for a generation'. Addressing it will require employers and the Government to work together to reset the UK's approach to workforce health, and ensure anyone who can work is offered secure and sustainable employment.
"Reducing NHS waiting lists and providing better access to healthcare will be critical but is only one part of the story. The reality is that once someone leaves work due to ill health, it becomes increasingly more challenging to help them back into employment. We need to see employers themselves investing more in providing secure, flexible jobs in healthy and inclusive workplaces, which can support the retention of those who fall ill in the first place."
Work Foundation longitudinal research released in December 2024 tracked the employment journeys of more than 9,000 UK workers and found that nearly one in ten employees (9%) who had experienced a decline in health had left the labour market by the end of the four-year study period. The analysis shows that almost half of those employees had left work within the first 12 months, and accessing flexibility at work is key for those with health conditions being able to remain in work. Employees without any flexibility in their job roles were four times more likely to leave work after a health decline.
Researchers found that being affected by multiple health conditions makes it significantly more likely that workers will leave employment. Workers with a single disability or health condition were 1.5 times more likely than those without a health condition or disability to leave work following a negative health transition. However, this likelihood of leaving work increases to 2.4 times for those with two disabilities or health conditions and increases to 5.6 times for those with three or more conditions.
"To achieve the Government's ambition to boost the employment rate to 80%, we must take action to stem the flow of those leaving work due to sickness and find new ways to ensure workers remain connected to the labour market," Harrison continues. "At a time when employers are facing a range of financial headwinds - including the forthcoming National Insurance rises - it is vital the Government uses the Mayfield Review to establish closer connections with employers to understand the challenges they face.
"Our research has found an 'awareness to action gap' amongst UK employers when it comes to addressing ill health at work. Employers, particularly SMEs, are aware of the challenges but do not always have the resources or capacity to support workers to stay in work. As we approach the Spending Review, we would like to see the Government working proactively with employers and commit to establishing a UK-wide network of one-stop workforce health hubs, offering funded SME services that are integrated with public health initiatives."
Amongst its other recommendations released in December 2024, the Work Foundation at Lancaster University calls on the Government to:
- Ensure the Employment Rights Bill enshrines secure and flexible working from day one of employment
- Revise the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to reflect current modern workforce challenges, and enhance enforcement of mental health risk assessments and preventive measures
- Lead a strategic transformation of occupational health services focused on improved and extended coverage for all workers, with mandatory provision by large employers and funded support for SMEs
- Strengthen and increase Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) to promote retention and enable a phased return to work, and explore subsidising the cost of long-term sickness absence
To read the report - Stemming the tide: Healthier jobs to tackle economic inactivity - and recommendations in full, please visit the Work Foundation website: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/work-foundation/publications/stemming-the-tide
