Government sets out plan for Britain’s first Workplace Health System

Plans for Britain’s first Workplace Health System have been set out as part of efforts to prevent people leaving employment because of ill health and give employers earlier access to health and return-to-work support.

The proposals form the latest phase of the Keep Britain Working programme, led by Sir Charlie Mayfield, and aim to create a more joined-up approach between employers, the NHS, local authorities and other support services.

Around 300,000 people with a health condition leave work every year, according to the programme. The number of working-age people out of work because of ill health has also risen by 800,000 since 2019, with the total economic cost estimated at around £212 billion a year.

The proposed system will focus on preventing health conditions from escalating, helping employees remain in work and improving support for people returning following sickness absence.

It will also seek to give employers better data on workplace health and inclusion, amid concerns that many organisations cannot currently determine how successfully they retain employees with health conditions or whether people remain in work following interventions.

An employer standard is being developed with the British Standards Institution, while the programme is also exploring pooled purchasing and insurance models intended to make workplace health provision more affordable for smaller employers.

Sir Charlie Mayfield, author of the Keep Britain Working Review and Co-Chair of the Keep Britain Working programme, said: “Britain has spent too long treating economic inactivity as a welfare problem. It is not. Instead, it’s one of the largest and most attainable growth opportunities this country has.

“We’ve had a National Health Service for almost 80 years. We’ve never had a Workplace Health System. That is why the same people appear on the welfare bill, on NHS waiting lists and in the productivity figures without anyone being able to join them up. It’s also why we are missing the best moments to help people. The new Workplace Health System would change that.”

The emphasis on prevention and earlier intervention has been welcomed by workplace health organisations, with several pointing to the need to reach employees before ill health develops into long-term absence.

Sarah McIntosh, Chief Executive of Mental Health First Aid England, said: “This report rightly identifies workplace health as one of the UK’s most significant growth opportunities. Too often, support comes only after someone has reached crisis point or left work altogether. As this report highlights, the greatest opportunity lies in acting earlier, creating environments where people feel able to speak openly about their health, access support, and remain well and productive in work.

“Mental health is a critical part of this conversation. We know that poor mental health is one of the leading drivers of sickness absence and workforce disengagement. Yet with the right workplace culture, skilled people managers, and accessible support, many of these challenges can be prevented or addressed before they lead to long-term absence.

“We welcome the report’s focus on safer conversations, earlier intervention, better workplace intelligence, and inclusive working environments. Creating psychologically safe workplaces where people can talk openly about their mental health without fear of stigma is essential if we are to improve retention, narrow participation gaps, and help more people thrive at work.”

The importance of intervening earlier is also reflected in government figures included in the announcement. Someone absent from work for four to six weeks has a 96 per cent chance of returning, while fewer than half return after a year.

Dr Nasser Siabi OBE, CEO and Co-founder, Microlink, said: “The key to successful return to work is acting early. Too often we wait until someone has been absent for months before putting the right support in place. Early conversations, rapid workplace adjustments and coordinated support can prevent people falling out of work in the first place.

“This has been the founding principle and practice of Microlink’s Workplace Adjustment Programme for more than a decade, supporting employees across some of the UK’s leading employers while helping organisations reduce absence, improve productivity and manage legal and reputational risk.

“Return-to-work planning should not start when someone is ready to come back, it should start the moment a health condition begins affecting their ability to work. The report’s focus on early intervention, retention and coordinated workplace support closely reflects the approach we have seen work in practice and represents a significant opportunity to improve outcomes for employees and employers alike.”

Access to healthcare before health problems begin affecting an employee’s ability to work is another part of the challenge.

Paul Schreier, CEO of The Simplyhealth Group and member of the Keep Britain Working Advisory Panel, said: “We welcome today’s progress update from the Keep Britain Working Review and its focus on prevention, early intervention, and helping people stay healthy in work. The report rightly recognises that the greatest opportunity lies in identifying challenges earlier and supporting people before they become detached from the labour market.”

He added: “Access to timely support is a critical part of that challenge. Our recent research found that more than half of employees have delayed seeking medical care in the last year, while employees reported losing an average of 2.1 working days because of delays or difficulties accessing healthcare. Making it easier for people to access support earlier, alongside creating healthier and more inclusive workplaces, can help more people stay well, stay in work, and fulfil their potential.”

Eleven regional Vanguards and more than 200 organisations are already testing different elements of the proposed system with employers, unions and disabled people across the UK.

In Hull, the council and workplace health provider Latus are developing the Hull Resilience Hub, a pooled purchasing model intended to give smaller employers access to occupational health services at the same prices as larger organisations.

South Yorkshire is testing independent case workers based part-time within businesses to support employees experiencing health concerns, while Liverpool City Region is testing draft return-to-work plans developed with employers.

The question of how the proposed system will interact with health and wellbeing provision employers already fund will also be important as the programme develops.

Katharine Moxham, Spokesperson for Group Risk Development (GRiD), said: “The Keep Britain Working team is to be commended on its ambition and clarity of approach towards building a British Workplace Health System to support avoidable work loss, help people with health conditions and disabilities to stay in work, or to achieve a sustainable return to work following a health-related absence. However, there is already a ready-made option, acknowledged in the report, which will enable employers to deliver on this – namely group income protection, which is insured long-term sick pay.”

She said group income protection can include services ranging from counselling and physiotherapy to online GP services, Employee Assistance Programmes, vocational rehabilitation and case management.

Moxham added: “A group income protection policy can form a proven, reliable backbone to an employee health and wellbeing programme. When employers effectively use all the built-in support – not just the insurance payout, these benefits help people stay in work, return to work faster, and avoid long-term absence.

“Those employers with group income protection already have tools in place that align with the report’s goals and will be ahead of the game in terms of meeting the Workplace Health Standard envisaged in the report and keeping their people in work.”

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: “Too many people fall out of work because of a health problem that could have been caught earlier, and too many employers have no way of knowing whether they are getting this right.

“This programme is working hand in hand with employers, mayors and local leaders to change that, so that good workplace health support is not just for big companies and it delivers growth across every postcode.”

For the UK workplace health and wellbeing sector, the proposals could represent a significant shift towards treating employee health as part of the infrastructure of work rather than primarily as a collection of individual benefits or services.

They also place greater emphasis on prevention, employer data, early intervention and the ability of smaller organisations to access occupational health support.

Natalie Shears, CEO and Founder of The Well Crowd, said: “The ambition to create a Workplace Health System is significant because it recognises that keeping people healthy and in work cannot sit with one service, provider or employer initiative alone. For employers, the challenge now will be turning that ambition into something practical. That means understanding the health needs of their workforce, knowing what support is available, intervening earlier and being able to measure whether that support is actually helping people stay healthy and in work.

“There is already a huge amount of expertise across the UK workplace health and wellbeing sector. The opportunity is to connect it more effectively and make it easier for employers of every size to access the right support at the right time.” Shears adds.

The programme is developing an employer data project and work and health prototype this autumn, while work with BSI on the employer standard will continue over the next year.

The wider programme sits within a £3.5 billion employment support package. This includes £259 million for WorkWell, which is intended to support up to 250,000 people to remain in or return to employment, while Connect to Work is expected to reach 300,000 sick or disabled people with tailored support.

The development of the Workplace Health System ultimately raises a bigger question for employers and workplace health providers: where responsibility for keeping people healthy and in work should sit, and how employers, occupational health, healthcare providers, insurers, the NHS and other services can work together before ill health results in long-term absence or people leaving employment altogether.