Amanda Martin, Labour MP for Portsmouth North, has welcomed new work to help people with health conditions and disabilities stay in employment and return to work when they are ready.
- Labour is working with employers, unions, disabled people and local leaders to develop Britain’s first Workplace Health System.
- Around 300,000 people with a health condition leave work each year, with earlier support offering a chance to prevent avoidable job losses.
- The East Midlands is among the Regional Vanguards helping develop and test the new approach.
- Work is also under way on an employer standard and affordable workplace health support for smaller businesses.
Sir Charlie Mayfield’s latest Keep Britain Working report sets out progress towards Britain’s first Workplace Health System. The programme brings together employers, health services, local leaders, unions and disabled people to test how support can reach workers earlier, before a period of ill health unnecessarily leads to the loss of a job.
Around 300,000 people with a health condition leave work every year. The longer someone is away, the harder returning can become: the report says that a person absent for four to six weeks has a 96 per cent chance of returning, while fewer than half return after a year.
The East Midlands is one of the areas involved in developing and testing the approach. Elsewhere, Vanguards are exploring measures including return-to-work plans, support based within businesses, and affordable access to occupational health services for smaller employers.
An employer standard is also being developed with the British Standards Institution. The programme will test and refine what employers can do to support staff, with affordability for smaller firms a key part of that work.
Amanda Martin, Labour MP for Portsmouth North, said: “When someone develops a health condition, they should be able to get support early. Too often, help arrives only after they have already lost touch with work or lost their job altogether.”
“That has a real cost for the person affected, their family and the employer who loses their skills and experience.”
“I welcome the East Midlands’ involvement in developing this approach. It is particularly important that smaller businesses can access practical, affordable advice, and that workers and disabled people help shape what support looks like.”
“I want to hear from employers, trade unions and people with lived experience in Portsmouth about what helps someone stay in work, what gets in the way, and where earlier support could make the greatest difference.”
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: “Too many people fall out of work because of a health problem that could have been caught earlier, and too many employers have no way of knowing whether they are getting this right.”
The work sits alongside the Government’s wider £3.5 billion employment support package. This includes WorkWell, backed by £259 million to support up to 250,000 people to stay in or return to work, and Connect to Work, which will reach 300,000 sick or disabled people with tailored support.
