According to a new study, more than a third (35%) of employees in the North-West of England are concerned that their health is deteriorating and they may have to leave the workplace.
The Work Foundation, a think-tank at Lancaster University, found that 40% of respondents felt that their health had declined in the past 12 months and that this had affected their ability to perform their jobs.
According to the analysis of the Annual Population Survey, there are 347,200 people in the North West who do not work or look for work due to ill health. This is an increase of over 75,000 people (or more than 5.5 percentage points), since before the Pandemic of 2019.
The foundation warns that the North-West jobs market may worsen if more workers leave their employment.
The foundation reported that Lancashire saw the biggest increase when it came to the regional data. The foundation said that the number of people who were not working or not looking for a job because of a chronic illness increased by 18,000 (14.4 percentage points), from 26.5% to 40.8%.
In Cumbria, 44.7% of people are economically inactive due to long-term illness. It was an increase of 5,800 people, or 6.5 percentage points, compared to the year 2019.
Greater Manchester also saw above-average growth, with 31.5 % of people (34,400) being economically inactive due to long-term illness, an increase of 34.400 or 5.6 percent points since 2019. Cheshire and Merseyside had, on the other hand, experienced lower growth than average over the last five years.
In the entire region, two thirds (66%) of employees rated their health as excellent and 60% said they had a good mental health.
More than half of the respondents said their employer takes their mental or physical health (54%) seriously. More than a third (39%) of North-West workers felt that their jobs were bad for their health.
Four in ten (42%) of those in the region have missed or delayed medical appointments due to work. Nearly two thirds (64%) had worked when they were sick.
The average UK figure is 64%.
Nearly half (47%) of North-West workers said that they did not receive sick pay in excess of the statutory minimum PS118.75 per week, as compared to 39% of UK employees.
One quarter of workers in the north-west (24%) said they were not confident about taking sick leave when needed.
Former John Lewis boss, Sir Charlie Mayfield will be completing the government’sKeep Britain Working review this fall. It is expected to focus on tackling worklessness due to ill health.
The fact that disability benefits and support have been such a hot topic in recent weeks may limit the minister’s room for maneuvering in the future. This week, the government was forced to scale back reforms in its Welfare Bill due to parliamentary revolts .
Ben Harrison, director at the Work Foundation, Lancaster University, commented on the north-west report: “The North-West of England faces a complex set challenges in terms of health and employment. Some employers are facing shortages of workers in key sectors.”
“Over the last five years, economic inactivity has increased significantly due to long-term illness in Lancashire and Cumbria.
Our survey shows that many workers in the region face health issues and require support to remain at work. Harrison said that if these problems are not addressed, efforts to promote economic growth and prosperity could be severely undermined.
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