Towards a healthier workforce
Interim report of the Commission for Healthier Working Lives
Key points
- Over 8 million working-age people now report health conditions that limit the type or amount of work they can do. This includes 3.9 million people in work, an increase of 1.5 million since 2013. These trends have resulted in substantial costs for individuals, employers and the wider economy, and risk deepening existing inequalities.
- The Commission for Healthier Working Lives, supported by the Health Foundation, is working to build consensus on the actions needed by government and employers to meet the growing challenge of working-age ill health.
- New Health Foundation analysis for the Commission shows that around 300,000 people a year move from employment to being out of the workforce with work-limiting health conditions. Once out of the workforce, they are almost three times less likely to return to work than those without health conditions.
- The Commission’s interim report highlights the need to help individuals with health conditions stay in work or return to employment quickly. However, many workers with health problems still face delays in accessing effective support, or it is not provided at all.
- The interim report summarises the Commission's findings to date and identifies three key areas that will be the focus of its final report in 2025:
- proactive initiatives to support worker health
- early and effective support to keep people attached to the labour market
- improved financial incentives together with employment and health support to help people back into work.
Record numbers of working-age people in the UK are experiencing ill health, especially musculoskeletal and mental health problems, that limits the type or amount of work they can do. This has a significant impact on both individuals and employers, but the new government has the opportunity to set a fresh direction.
This interim report of the Commission for Healthier Working Lives outlines a new approach to workforce health and recommends immediate steps the government can take to improve outcomes. It reviews the UK’s work and health trends and explains why a long-term approach is needed to address the health challenges of the working-age population. It notes that policy and practice gaps, such as for statutory sick pay and occupational health access, mean that support for workers with health conditions is often absent or comes too late.
Improving work and health outcomes is a long-term project. The areas of focus identified here will guide the Commission’s recommendations in its final report, due in 2025. These proposals will be aimed at encouraging employers to adopt a more preventative approach to workplace health, enhancing support for individuals to help them stay in the workplace and improving assistance for those out of work.