More than 250 of Britain's biggest employers have joined a new taskforce aimed at addressing the issue of workers dropping out of the labour market due to ill-health.
The taskforce, led by Sir Charlie Mayfield, aims to tackle the problem that is officially estimated to cost £212 billion annually.
Sir Charlie, who previously led a review on the scale of Britain's sickness problem, believes that tackling unemployment linked to long-term illness will unlock economic growth that is 'hiding in plain sight'.
The taskforce includes companies such as British Airways, Tesco, and Royal Mail, as well as Sainsbury's, EDF Energy, and Currys, and ten mayoral authorities, including London and Manchester.
The companies involved will track sickness absence, return-to-work outcomes, and disability participation, with the government stating that this data will make workplace health performance visible for the first time.
The issue of workers dropping out of the labour market due to ill-health is a significant problem, with an estimated 148.8 million working days lost to sickness or injury last year, and UK sick days hitting a 15-year high.
Sir Charlie attributes the breakdown in communication between employers and absent staff as a major contributor to the problem, with many employees feeling disconnected from their employers during periods of illness.
However, not everyone is convinced that the taskforce will be effective, with some employers warning that tax rises have left them without the resources to invest in workplace health, and wellbeing experts cautioning that smaller businesses lack the tools and resources to manage employee health strategically.
Sir Charlie believes that his plans could help cut the welfare bill, which is forecast to account for 23.6 per cent of total government spending in the 2025 to 2026 financial year.
He argues that fixing the problem at the fundamental level could make a significant contribution to getting the economy working better, and believes that the initiative has the potential to benefit both employers and employees.
Sir Charlie expressed confidence that the initiative would receive support from the government, stating that the arithmetic is simple: returning those currently out of work through ill-health to the labour market would boost the workforce without any of the usual trade-offs.
