The final report of the Keep Britain Working review, carried out by Sir Charlie Mayfield, has been published. The report sets out recommendations for the Government, aimed at “turning the tide” on ill-health and disability in the workplace, including addressing mental health at work, retention of older people in work and improving participation and retention of disabled people in work.
Mr Mayfield highlights that Britain is facing “a quiet but urgent crisis,” with over one in five working-age adults out of the workforce, substantially because of health problems. The report aims to “keep Britain working” by achieving “a new deal” with employers, employees and the Government, where “employers must be in the lead.” Mayfield says that “employers will need to do more” as “they are uniquely placed to act on prevention, to support rehabilitation, and to remove barriers for disabled people.”
According to the report, employers lose on average £120 per day in profit from sickness absences, which are at a 15-year high, and employers face an estimated £85 billion a year in lost output and costs linked to ill-health. With 150 million days lost annually, this means huge disruption, lost capacity and unplanned costs.
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Proposals in the report
Key proposals include immediately launching a three year “vanguard phase” to deliver three major changes. These include:
· developing the Healthy Working Lifecycle as a certified standard, which defines the practices that drive the best outcomes in reduced sickness absence, improved return to work rates and better participation and inclusion of disabled people
· building better Workplace Health Provision (WHP) including new “stay in work” and “return to work” plans within the lifecycle
· creating a Workplace Health Intelligence Unit (WHIU) to aggregate and analyse data, guide continuous improvement and provide leadership, as a movement HQ, across the new system.
The report recognises that a phased approach will be required — working with willing employers and providers to develop and prove what works, before embedding and extending the measures across the wider economy over the next three to seven years.
Duty to make reasonable adjustments
The findings of this report do not replace or change the requirement on employers to make reasonable adjustments to support disabled individuals into work or keep them in work. Under the Equality Act, to be classed as a disability, an individual must have a long-term physical or mental condition that has a substantial adverse effect on a person's ability to do day-to-day activities.
If an individual’s condition falls within the definition of a disability, the Act places the employer under a duty to make reasonable adjustments to the employee’s work and/or workplace in order to remove the disadvantage the employee is put at as a result of their disability. Any reasonable adjustments will be specific to the individual’s particular circumstances and should be discussed with the employee to ensure they are tailored to their needs.
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