It’s not just things that need to get better, it’s people too. There is a clear and understandable focus within the new government on growing Britain’s economy. A large part of this will be helping millions of the economically inactive back into the workplace. Much of this inactivity is driven by work-limiting health conditions.
Some conditions will make getting into work really hard, and the benefits system needs to reflect this through appropriate support. Equally, there are many who will be keen to work but need more support. The Barnsley Pathways to Work Commission Report suggests that seven in ten people who are currently economically inactive would like to take a job that is aligned to their skills, interests and circumstances.
There are many components to a healthy workforce. Much more emphasis is needed on prevention, which needs to go beyond just providing a bowl of fruit. Employers need to focus on vocational rehabilitation. This is a component that is too often overshadowed by occupational health in consultation documents, which indicate whether someone is fit for work, rather than getting employees back to work. For too long, rehabilitation has gone unnoticed and been under-valued. However, it very evidently prevents and reduces ill health related job losses. We know it that the sooner rehabilitation starts, the more likely it is that someone will stay in work. We also know that too few people have access to it.
At Zurich, we recently commissioned the Centre for Economics and Business Research to explore the scale of the issue. It estimated that some 112.5 million sick days were taken last year by workers with long-term health conditions, costing the country £32.7bn in lost productivity. By 2030, at current rates of growth, workplace absences due to long-term sickness will cost the economy around £66.3bn every year – more than the defence budget.
This is clearly not sustainable and is having serious detrimental impacts at all levels of the economy. For workers, being off long-term exacerbates the risk of further long term mental and physical health issues, and the vast majority want to get back to “normal life” as quickly as possible. Helping people back to work benefits employees, their families, employers, and the wider economy. There is a clear impact on employers – budgets are already stretched and many have skill shortages. Small and medium businesses, the engine of the economy, are worst hit by the rising number of employees on long-term sick, picking up 76 per cent of the total lost productivity bill in 2023, totalling £24.7bn.
Despite the figures, there are solutions. The insurance model of procuring and pooling vocational rehabilitation with financial benefits and other health services is both cost-effective and well-suited to SMEs. It gives employees at small companies access to human resource facilities that their employers may not themselves be able to offer. The link with the employer is retained and helps to support a successful return to work through vocational rehabilitation services such as mental health support, access to rehabilitation clinics and return to work planning. Nine out of ten group income protection policies currently in force belong to SMEs, and around one third of policies cover businesses with fewer than ten workers.
An analysis by the Association of British Insurers of some 16,000 cases found that nearly nine in ten people remained in the workforce following access to rehabilitation services through insurance. The combination of rehabilitation and early intervention, together with a greater focus on preventative initiatives, can have a transformative effect on people’s lives, leading to a healthier, more fulfilled, and more productive workforce. Despite these benefits, consumer polling by Zurich last year found that just one third of employees on long-term sick leave were offered rehabilitation support by their employer, and just 22 per cent were offered relapse prevention services.
The insurance industry recognises that vocational rehabilitation is only part of a holistic government approach required to getting people back to worth that will include areas such as health, education, skills, childcare, elder care and transport.
A 2023 DWP select committee on Statutory Sick Pay observed: “The government should set out in response to this report exactly what it has done, and plans to do, to promote group income protection among smaller businesses, including any proposals to incentivise take-up. It should also set out what plans it has to rectify the anomaly of salary sacrifice arrangements being subject to double taxation.”
The last word goes to someone who has seen the benefits of rehabilitation. As part of an awareness campaign that Zurich ran this year, Invictus gold medallist JJ Chalmers, who was injured while serving in Afghanistan in 2011, called on companies to follow the military’s lead when it comes to helping employees on long-term sick back into the workplace. Chalmers said:
“It’s in the toughest times when you really realise who you have in your corner. Luckily, the Royal Marines were like an extended family for me and were firmly in mine, but for too many people, their employers don’t even consider the importance of this kind of support.
“Businesses really need to take a leaf out of the military’s book – if you want
a resilient and motivated workforce, your people need to know you will offer the right help when people really need it. Through this process of recovery, it can make us much more resilient and stronger all round.
“Most people want resources and support to get back to their life, but don’t have the means to do so. The approach must be holistic, meaning physical, mental, and social recovery all must be taken into consideration. I had dangerously low morale at times during my recovery, but I found strength in the people around me, my family, and the rehab teams, who wanted me to get better.”
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