The UK Government’s Keep Britain Working review has sounded the alarm on a growing crisis: ill-health is now one of the biggest drivers of economic inactivity in the UK, with over one in five working-age adults out of the workforce, largely due to health problems. Mental ill-health among young people is rising sharply, older workers are leaving too early, and disabled people remain locked out of work at twice the rate of non-disabled peers.
For employers, this isn’t just a social issue, it’s a business-critical challenge. Sickness absence and staff turnover bring disruption, cost, and lost experience. For the economy, the impact is staggering: £212 billion per year, equivalent to 7% of UK GDP, is lost through reduced output, higher welfare spending, and pressure on the NHS.
The report’s message is clear: this crisis is preventable. But it requires a fundamental shift from a model where health at work is left to individuals and the NHS, to one where it becomes a shared responsibility between employers, employees, and health services.
What the Report Calls For
- Employers must lead on prevention: Encourage early conversations about health, make reasonable adjustments, and offer flexibility for treatment and phased returns.
- Break the culture of fear: Employees worry about stigma; managers fear saying the wrong thing. Silence turns small challenges into long-term absence.
- Move from patchwork to prevention: Current wellbeing provision is fragmented. The report proposes a Healthy Working Lifecycle, embedding inclusion, early intervention, and sustainable return-to-work practices.
- Government support: Through the Vanguard phase, the government will partner with businesses to test approaches and build evidence for reform.
The Focus Group’s Perspective
At The Focus Group, we welcome this report. It validates what we’ve been saying for years: proactive wellbeing isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.
Here’s how our developing approach aligns with the report’s recommendations:
1. Prevention Through Culture
We help organisations move from reactive to proactive by embedding wellbeing into everyday practice. That means:
- Auditing current provision
- Designing tailored frameworks
- Equipping managers with confidence and tools for early conversations
2. Fast Access to Support
Waiting weeks for help can turn manageable stress into crisis. Our model prioritises speed, because early intervention saves jobs, health, and money.
3. Empowering Leaders
The report highlights the need for psychologically safe workplaces. Our mentoring and supervision groups (currently in development) will give HR leads and managers the confidence to support staff without fear.
Why This Matters for Employers
The cost of doing nothing is huge:
- Sickness absence at a 15-year high
- 800,000 more people out of work for health reasons than in 2019
- A 22-year-old leaving work due to ill-health could lose £1 million in lifetime earnings, with the state incurring similar costs.
Conversely, investing in wellbeing delivers measurable ROI: higher productivity, better retention, and reduced absence. It’s not just good for people, it’s good for business.
A Call to Action
The Keep Britain Working report is a wake-up call. Employers have both an opportunity and a responsibility to act. At The Focus Group, we’re ready to partner with organisations that want to lead the way and build resilient cultures where health and work go hand in hand.
Want to explore how we can help your organisation prepare for this new era of shared responsibility?
Get in touch today.
