Overview
- The Keep Britain Working review estimates the annual cost to the state from health‑related economic inactivity at about £212 billion, or roughly 7% of GDP.
- UK employers face around £85 billion a year in lost output and related costs linked to sickness and poor workplace health.
- Since 2019, about 800,000 more people are out of work for health reasons, with projections of a further 600,000 by 2030 without decisive action.
- Ministers have backed a three‑year vanguard pilot with 60+ employers, including Google UK, John Lewis and Burger King, to test a new workplace health provision that could link through the NHS App.
- Recommendations include reforming GP fit notes, introducing incentives such as tax reliefs or sick‑pay rebates, and creating a Workplace Health Intelligence function, with sharp rises in youth mental‑health‑related inactivity and persistent barriers for disabled people flagged as priorities.