A new government initiative designed to tackle the UK's soaring levels of workplace sickness has been dismissed by a leading financial expert as "little more than spin."
What is the new workplace sickness scheme?
Announced by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the scheme will provide free occupational health training to 5,000 line managers working in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across England. The training, which will be delivered by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) between January and March next year, is funded by an £800,000 investment from the Labour Party.
The government states the programme aims to equip managers with practical skills to spot early signs of health issues among staff, such as persistent fatigue, behaviour changes, and increased absence. The goal is to enable supportive conversations about health and workplace adjustments, helping employees remain in work.
The scale of the UK's sickness challenge
The initiative is part of a drive to address what the government calls an "inherited issue" of record levels of economic inactivity due to ill health. Official figures reveal that more than 2.8 million people are currently signed off as long-term sick, one of the highest rates in the G7 group of advanced economies.
Furthermore, the Keep Britain Working Review found there are 800,000 more working-age adults out of work due to sickness than in 2019. The financial impact on businesses is severe, with the cost of replacing an employee lost to ill-health exceeding £11,000, and each day of sickness absence costing around £120 in lost profit.
Expert criticism: 'Politics rather than policy'
Despite the government's positive framing, the scheme has faced immediate criticism for its perceived lack of scale and ambition. Scott Gallacher, Director at Leicester-based financial planners Rowley Turton, told Newspage that while free training is welcome, the programme is fundamentally inadequate.
He highlighted that the funding for just 5,000 managers fails to address the reality that 79% of SMEs currently provide no occupational health training, across a total of some 5.7 million UK businesses. Gallacher performed a stark calculation, noting that the £800,000 funding equates to roughly 29p per person among the 2.8 million long-term sick.
"That suggests this initiative is little more than spin — politics rather than policy," Gallacher concluded.
Government defends the training plan
Minister for Employment, Dame Diana Johnson, defended the scheme, arguing it provides crucial tools often missing in small businesses. "Too often, small businesses lose skilled staff to health issues without the tools to support them - and that doesn’t help anyone. This free training changes that," she said.
"It gives line managers the confidence to have the right conversations and make the adjustments that could help keep people in work. When small businesses support their staff to stay at work healthy, everyone wins - employees, businesses and our economy."
The success of the scheme in making a dent in the nation's sickness crisis remains to be seen, with critics arguing a far more substantial intervention is required.
