Sickness bill costs £85bn year, says new report, which warns of 'economic crisis'

The UK is facing an "economic inactivity crisis" arsenic employers are losing an estimated £85bn a twelvemonth successful costs linked to sickness and mediocre workplace health, a landmark study has found.

More than 1 successful 5 working-age radical are present retired of enactment and not looking for enactment - much than comparator countries - which is costing the UK £212bn a year, the Mayfield reappraisal said.

Its author, erstwhile John Lewis brag Sir Charlie Mayfield, says mediocre wellness "has go 1 of the biggest brakes connected maturation and opportunity," but says it is not inevitable.

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The report, published connected Wednesday, says determination are present 800,000 much radical retired of enactment present than successful 2019 owed to wellness problems, and without "decisive action" to code this, different 600,000 radical volition beryllium added by 2030.

Sir Charlie recovered that a 22-year-old who is not successful enactment for wellness reasons could beryllium much than £1 cardinal worse disconnected implicit their lifetime, portion employers are losing an mean of £120 per time successful nett from absences.

The outgo to the authorities is besides immense - it is costing 7% of GDP, oregon astir 70% of the income taxation we pay, done "lost output, accrued payment payments and further burdens connected the NHS", which is "unsustainable".

The further load successful payment payments and NHS request is astir £47bn annually, the study says.

Among the reasons for these absences continuing to equine is simply a "culture of fear" felt by some employers and employees, that "creates distance" and "discourages harmless and aboriginal disclosure, constructive conversations and support," Sir Charlie found.

He wrote that determination is simply a "a deficiency of an effectual oregon accordant enactment strategy for employers and their employees successful managing wellness and tackling barriers faced by disabled people" that are "structural".

But helium says "these problems are not inevitable," adding: "What is missing is coordination, focus, and a coherent model for change."

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Sir Charlie's study is "proposing a cardinal displacement from a exemplary wherever wellness astatine enactment is mostly near to the idiosyncratic and the NHS, to 1 wherever it becomes a shared work betwixt employers, employees and wellness services".

Employers indispensable "act connected prevention, to enactment rehabilitation, and to region barriers for disabled people," helium says.

His connection to employees is: "Work tin beryllium demanding. Setbacks are portion of life. Health and enactment are not ever casual partners, but they are mutually reinforcing. Supportive workplaces matter, and truthful does idiosyncratic responsibility."

But helium besides calls connected the authorities to "reset the strategy - to alteration and incentivise employers and employees to act".

"System issues specified arsenic acceptable enactment reform, quality solution and links with programmes similar Pathways to Work volition besides request coordination," helium wrote, calling for governmental enactment crossed a scope of authorities departments to spearhead change.

The reappraisal besides calls for the adoption of a workplace wellness provision, which is described arsenic a non-clinical lawsuit absorption work supporting employees and enactment managers crossed a alleged steadfast moving lifecycle.

It says this attack of offering enactment and proposal and aboriginal involution could beryllium integrated with the NHS App and trim oregon regenerate the request for the existent acceptable note.

The authorities says much than 60 employers - including the British Beer and Pub Association, Burger King, John Lewis and Google UK - person expressed involvement successful becoming alleged vanguard employers to pioneer the wide caller approach.

This would impact a three-year signifier focused connected however to code intelligence wellness astatine work, retention of older radical successful enactment and improved information and retention of disabled radical successful work.

Health is 'essential for economical growth'

Sir Charlie said: "Employers are uniquely placed to marque a difference, preventing wellness issues wherever possible, supporting radical erstwhile they arise, and helping them instrumentality to work.

"If we support Britain working, everyone wins - people, employers and the state.

"That's wherefore the enactment the authorities is taking guardant from my reappraisal is truthful important. I'm looking guardant to moving with them and with employers, ample and small, to support radical successful work, unlock imaginable and physique a healthier, much prosperous Britain."

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said Sir Charlie's connection was "crystal clear: keeping radical steadfast and successful enactment is the close happening to bash and is indispensable for economical growth".

"Business is our spouse successful gathering a productive workforce - due to the fact that erstwhile businesses clasp endowment and trim workplace ill-health, everyone wins.

"That's wherefore we're acting present to motorboat employer-led vanguards arsenic portion of the Plan for Change, driving economical maturation and accidental crossed the country."

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Conservative shadiness concern caput Andrew Griffith said that portion helium welcomes the study and its findings, helium is disquieted astir the interaction of the government's Employment Rights Bill, that is returning to the Commons this afternoon.

He told Mornings with Ridge and Frost: "I deliberation we request to springiness employers much accidental and reasons to prosecute young people, and that (the Bill)… volition enactment up each sorts of barriers and make incentives for them not to instrumentality a accidental erstwhile they're giving young radical a job."