Get Britain Working aims to combine wellbeing and employment.

With its Get Britain Working White Paper, the Department for Work and Pensions unveiled a series of reforms that aim to integrate health, skills and job opportunities.

It will also provide support to those with disabilities and long-term mental and physical health conditions.

According to the government, this will be achieved by offering 40,000 additional elective appointments each week in NHS Trusts in order to reduce waiting list and hence health-related inactivity.

Get Britain Working states that the government will address “key issues of public health” which contribute to unemployment, including expanding mental health talking therapies, banning the sale and use of tobacco products and vaping, and taking new measures to combat obesity.

The government will also help people with health conditions stay in the workplace and launch an independent review of employers’ roles in promoting healthy, inclusive workplaces.

The review will examine how employers can improve the recruitment and retention rate of people with disabilities and health conditions. It will also look at ways to prevent sick people from coming to work, and take early action for sickness absence.

It says that a revamped careers and jobs service will support employers in providing healthier workplaces, and will work with local health services to assist people with health issues to return to work.

The ‘Getting it Right First’ teams will be working closely with the local Integrated Care Boards to reduce NHS waiting times, and to provide people with the support they need to get treatment, rehab and return to their jobs. The team will also provide intensive support in 20 areas with the most sick people.

The whitepaper outlines PS125million investment in eight regions across England and Wales to mobilize local work support, health and skill support. This includes funding for three trailblazer areas to fund “NHS Accelerators” to prevent people from falling out of employment completely due to illness.

The Office for National Statistics reports that more than 9,000,000 people are considered economically inactive, and 2,8 million suffer from long-term illness. This number has increased significantly since the pandemic. Other developed economies have returned to pre-Covid levels.

According to the Health and Safety Executive, 1,7 million also suffered a work-related disease in the last year (2023-24).

The government claims that reforms will revamp the system of health and disability benefits so as to “better support people to enter the workforce and stay there, and tackle the spiraling benefits bill”.

The whitepaper was widely welcomed by all those who work in occupational health organizations.

William Roberts is the chief executive officer of the Royal Society for Public Health. He said that it was encouraging to see how the new government white paper acknowledges the role employers play in improving the health of their employees. This aligns with the feedback we have received from businesses.

“Everyone in the UK who is employed should have a right to a safe workplace. We hope that the independent review of the role of UK employers to promote health will recommend a minimum level of support for all employees. It is important to note that our research indicates that ten million people do not have access to workplace health support.

Peter McGettrick said, “Even prior to the pandemic the number of people with long-term illnesses out of work was on the increase, and this trend has continued. It is therefore good to see the government’s concerted effort to help people get into work and stay there.

It remains to be determined whether it will deliver on its promises, but a new approach is needed to tackle this important issue. The UK’s low productivity is a result of declining health outcomes, rising economic inactivity and deteriorating health.

McGettrick called on the government to go further and create a National Wellbeing Strategy led by a Minister of Wellbeing so that we can place the wellbeing of people at the center all Government policies, including economic growth.

Jack Latus of Latus Group’s occupational health provider said that the focus on workplace healthcare was more prevalent in large employers.

“Every employee should have access to healthcare. However, right now the majority of those who benefit from this are employees in large companies with the resources to provide these benefits.

“Healthcare is a right, not an extravagance. All businesses, no matter their size, should be able offer their employees proper health services without affecting their bottom line.

The government’s “Get Britain Working” programme could address these issues, but only if workplace health support was available to all workers and businesses – not just to the largest or most privileged.

Latus also added that employers need to be more encouraged to invest in the health of their workers.

“In countries such as France and Germany, companies play a larger role in supporting the health of their employees. This model is worth consideration if we want to seriously drive productivity and economic development.

He said: “Nobody’s health should be compromised because of their job or the size and type of business they work for. I urge policyholders to consider how we can position workplace health as a national standard, not a luxury.”