Employers join forces with government to keep Britain working

Over 60 big and many small businesses are joining forces with the government to tackle ill-health in the workplace.

The recently published Keeping Britain Working report has revealed that UK employers lose as much as £85 billion a year from sickness, turnover and lost productivity.

Business Vanguards

In response, the government will partner with employers to reshape how health issues and disabilities are managed in the workplace with the launch of employer-led Vanguards.

These Vanguards include high-profile organisations such as British Airways, Bupa, Google, Sainsbury’s, Holland and Barrett, as well as Mayoral Combined Authorities and SMEs.

They will develop and refine workplace health approaches over the next three years to build the evidence base for what works to reduce sickness absence, improve return-to-work rates and increase disability employment rates.

Businesses and government working together – a welcome change of tone

Responding to the Keeping Britain Working review, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) Chief Executive Neil Carberry said, “A new partnership between business and the public sector to tackle ill health that prevents work is the right approach.

“Our forecasts show that the cost to the economy of failing to tackle workforce challenges of all forms could add up to £39bn every year. If we can unlock even just a portion of that, we’ll see better jobs, better pay and an improving economy and fiscal picture.

“The report acknowledges that economic inactivity cannot be left to government alone. But since the election last year, businesses have too often been talked at by government rather than worked with. Today is a welcome change of tone. We hope it will be followed by more practical business engagement in the weeks to come.”

Neil added, “To keep Britain working, we must tackle NHS waiting lists. To achieve this, the government must prioritise value, not ideology, in how it staffs NHS hospitals. Aiming to end agency use is pushing up costs and reducing service quality.

“In the spirit of the Keep Britain Working Review, we must encourage skilled professionals to keep working for the NHS, in whatever way they choose and can manage, to treat patients faster and get patients back into the workforce and more productive. It’s time to talk about how we make this happen.”

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