ITT: Creating health-supportive workplaces: a test and learn project

Increasing numbers of people are leaving work or struggling to remain in work because of health conditions, which has implications for individuals, employers, public services and economic growth. There is a growing recognition that supporting people to stay healthy and remain in work requires earlier action and a more coordinated approach across employers, health systems and government.  

The Health Foundation’s Commission for Healthier Working Lives has highlighted the critical role employers can play in preventing people from falling out of work and called for a more proactive approach to supporting workers with health conditions. The Commission found that too often support comes too late, after health has already deteriorated or someone has already moved out of work.  

While there are interventions available that support worker health, there is a lack of understanding about how to successfully embed and scale these approaches, particularly in sectors and workplaces where operational constraints make change more difficult. This project seeks to address that gap by generating practical learning on what it takes to move from knowing ‘what works’ to making it happen in practice.

Invitation to apply

We are looking to commission an organisation with expertise in employer engagement, behavioural change and participatory design to recruit and work with participating employers.  

We are keen to understand the operational and cultural barriers that exist, and to work with line managers and employees to identify and test what it would take to create an environment that better supports health.  

We are interested in generating implementation insight and evidence that can help accelerate the uptake of new workplace health offers, including the tools being developed by the Keep Britain Working Vanguards programme. 

Details of the work

• Phase one will involve discovery and engagement to understand employer appetite for taking action on health, identification of promising interventions, and agreeing on organisations/sectors to target for recruitment. We want to focus on organisations in sectors where employee health challenges are common but implementing change is hard due to financial or operational constraints.  
• Phase two will involve recruitment of employers, followed by co-design and prototyping with the participating employers.  
• Phase three will involve piloting and generating implementation learning and early outcome evidence. The chosen delivery provider will be required to create practical and engaging guidance, materials and case studies that can support wider employer adoption across different sectors and workforce types. 

How to apply 

Please follow these steps to complete your application:   

• Read the invitation to tender for full details of the tender response requirements and selection criteria, frequently asked questions and guidance for applications.  
• Submit your application via our applicant portal, where you will need to log in or register a new account and then select the relevant opportunity. 
• You will need to complete your application by 12.00 (midday) on Monday 7 September 2026. We will not accept proposals submitted after this time.  
• If you have any queries relating to the tendering process, please email ana.stojanovic@health.org.uk.

Interviews will be held on Tuesday 6 October 2026.  

We will communicate the final decision to successful applicants on Thursday 15 October 2026.