UK employers are being urged to do more to keep disabled people in work, after a major review warned that long-term sickness is driving a sharp rise in economic inactivity.
The warning comes from the Keep Britain Working review, an independent study commissioned by the government and led by former John Lewis chair Sir Charlie Mayfield. The review highlights a steep increase in the number of people who are out of the labour market because of ill health or disability, and calls for a fundamental shift in how workplaces support staff when their health changes.
According to the review, over one in five working-age adults are now out of the labour market, with a record number of people not working because of long-term sickness. Since 2019, around 800,000 more people have become economically inactive due to health problems, and the overall cost of ill-health to the economy is estimated at more than seven per cent of GDP. The report describes this trend as unsustainable for individuals, employers and the state.
In response, the Department for Work and Pensions has announced that around 60 employers will join forces with government over the next three years to test new approaches to workplace health and disability inclusion. The companies, which include major household names such as Tesco, British Airways and Nando’s, will work with ministers, disabled people, trade unions and health experts to build an evidence base for what actually helps people stay in work when they live with, or develop, a health condition.
Sir Charlie Mayfield will co-lead a vanguard taskforce bringing those partners together. Setting out his message to business, he said employers are uniquely placed to make a difference by preventing health problems where possible, supporting staff when issues arise and helping people return to work after illness. If Britain can keep people in good work, he argues, everyone benefits – workers, employers and the wider economy.
The taskforce’s work is expected to feed into a new voluntary national standard on workplace health and disability, which the government hopes to have in place by 2029. Ministers say the goal is to give employers clearer guidance on good practice, from flexible working and phased returns to better use of occupational health services and reasonable adjustments for disabled staff.
Disability organisations have welcomed the focus on employers’ responsibilities and the recognition that good work, with the right support, can be life-changing for disabled people. At the same time, campaigners have questioned whether the plans go far enough, pointing to longstanding barriers such as delays in the Access to Work scheme, patchy access to occupational health, insecure contracts and workplaces that are slow to adapt when staff disclose a disability or health condition.
For now, the new partnership with 60 employers marks a significant attempt to shift the emphasis of policy away from simply tightening benefits rules and towards improving what happens inside workplaces themselves. Whether it succeeds will depend on how much real change employers are willing to make – and whether disabled people see that translated into more secure jobs, better support and the ability to stay in work when their health changes.