The Government, health insurers, benefit providers and employer groups have welcomed the recommendations made in final report from the Keep Britain Working review, although questions have been raised as to whether SMEs will be able to afford to provide this support for their employees.
Work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden said: “I want to thank Sir Charlie Mayfield for his excellent work [on this review]. His message is crystal clear: keeping people healthy and in work is the right thing to do and is essential for economic growth.
“When businesses retain talent and reduce workplace ill-health, everyone wins. That’s why we’re acting now to launch employer-led Vanguards as part of the ‘Plan for Change’, driving economic growth and opportunity across the country.”
The Association of British Insures also welcomed the recommendations in this report. The trade body’s director of policy, health and protection Dr Yvonne Braun says: ”Sir Charlie Mayfield’s report lays out a compelling and timely vision for a healthier, more productive workforce to power UK growth.
“The report rightly highlights how health and protection insurers are already supporting workplace health through prevention, early intervention, case management, and vocational rehabilitation.
“We were pleased to contribute to the report through our work with Sir Charlie and his team and look forward to further supporting the progress towards a healthier UK workforce, including through our involvement as a vanguard employer.”
However while larger employers and insurers welcomed this report there was some scepticism as to whether SMEs would be able to implement many of these recommendations in the near future
Steve Herbert, a brand ambassador of Occupational Health Assessments, who has also worked in the corporate benefits market says: “There is no doubt that sickness absence needs to be tackled, and many of the proposals in the report are sound and worthy of consideration. Yet timing is everything.
“For instance, the original proposals for Pensions Auto-Enrolment to tackle a different national problem – the lack of pension savings – landed at a time when the national economy and businesses were doing rather well and employers had the latitude and finances to consider new ideas and absorb additional costs. As a result, the direction of travel was broadly welcomed and the final policy a success despite the economic challenges that occurred later on in the process.
“Whereas the Keep Britain Working final report has landed at a time when the national economy has been sluggish for a decade, less than a year after huge costs landed on employers in the last Budget, less than a year before new employer legal requirements in The Employment Rights Bill take effect, a day after the Chancellor’s downbeat statement, and just three weeks before the fiscal reality of those Budget decisions are finally announced.
“It is difficult to see how this will land well with employers who are unlikely to have the finances or attention span to really engage with the good ideas in the report for some time to come.
“I hope the report gets the airtime it needs but suspect that most employers will put this at the bottom of the in-tray given the other challenges of the moment.”
These concerns about the effectiveness for SMEs was also echoed by the CIPD. It’s chief executive Peter Cheese says: “The report’s success will depend on the extent to which these recommendations are understood by business in driving positive outcomes and backed by policymakers at a national and regional level. In particular, it will be crucial that the first phase of implementation leads to the provision of more cost-effective and accessible quality occupational health services for SMEs.
“As the CIPD, we will be engaging with our members in the people profession to support the ‘vanguard phase’ and develop the Workplace Health Provision and guidance needed to improve health and business outcomes.”
Insurers and healthcare providers welcomed the recommendations, saying it was a “pivotal” moment for workplace health.
Unum CEO Mark Till says: “The report lays the foundation for a collaborative effort between employers, policymakers and providers like Unum to ensure every individual, regardless of health challenges or disability, has the opportunity to thrive in their professional journey.
“With 31 per cent of the economically inactive population now classified as long-term sick and mental health the leading cause of absence, this is a national challenge that must be addressed to unlock economic growth.”
Zurich UK head of market engagement Peter Hamilton adds : “There’s a lot to like in the review. It makes clear the significant societal and individual costs of economic inactivity, especially lost earnings from extended absences.
“Positively, it also shows solutions to this problem exist. The report’s recommendations for Government, including the establishment of the Workplace Health Intelligence Unit, are clear and practical and we strongly support them.
“The report highlights the need to get employers ‘on the pitch’ early; we need ‘stay in work’ plans, not ‘absence plans’. Insurers understand that prevention and swift intervention, like rehabilitation, make a huge difference. We know that nine in 10 employees return to work when they have access to vocational rehabilitation, but only three in 10 have this.”
Aviva UK Health medical director Dr Subashini M says: “We strongly support the report’s emphasis on prevention, early intervention, and rapid rehabilitation in the workplace. These measures are essential to tackling economic inactivity and improving the health and resilience of the UK workforce.
“We welcome the partnership approach recommended in the report. By working together, employers and Government can deliver meaningful change improving the health of the UK workforce and helping more people stay well and at work. Group private medical insurance and group income protection play a critical role in this effort. “
