These ‘vanguard’ employers – including big names such as British Airways and Mayoral Combined Authorities, alongside small businesses – will adopt the review’s recommendations. These aim to reduce sickness absence, improve return-to-work rates and increase disability employment rates.
Mayfield will co-lead a ‘vanguard taskforce’ with ministers, bringing together employers, disabled people, workers’ representatives and health experts. The government will work towards developing into a voluntary certified standard by 2029.
Mayfield said: “Employers are uniquely placed to make a difference, preventing health issues where possible, supporting people when they arise, and helping them return to work. If we keep Britain working, everyone wins – people, employers and the state.”
Work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden agreed that “keeping people healthy and in work is the right thing to do and essential for economic growth”.
There are around one million disabled people who want to work but are denied the opportunity because of barriers they face in the workplace. James Taylor, director of strategy at Scope, said the charity’s employment advisors regularly work with disabled people who have been pushed out of work due to negative attitudes or rigid working practices.
Taylor said “it is right that employers step up” and “it is good to see some already committed to improving as vanguards”, but he said he hopes that more businesses follow.
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The government has committed to investing £1 billion annually in disability employment support by the end of the decade, but Scope is calling for continued investment and government action to support disabled people to stay in work.
Some experts have reservations about the review. Mikey Erhardt, policy lead at Disability Rights UK, called the Keep Britain Working review “yet another government-commissioned report” which “blames disabled people for not working”.
The review calls on employees to take “personal responsibility”. It said that “work can be demanding” and “setbacks are part of life”, and that “disengaging from work and potential support leads to detachment and dependency” while “staying connected to work supports recovery and resilience”.
Erhardt claimed that the review “fundamentally misunderstands that people are disabled by societal and workplace barriers, not just by their health conditions”.
He points out that it comes at a time when the government is believed to be cutting schemes like Access to Work, which supports disabled people in the workplace. The Big Issue has reported on the wave of cuts to Access to Work, with some people having seen their support slashed by more than two-thirds.
“This review fails to unpick just how broken our economy is,” Erhardt said. “Just 2.5% of those off work as long-term sick move into work every year, and they are predominantly in jobs that are poorly paid, strenuous and insecure, such as couriers, domestic cleaners, bar staff, coffee shop staff, security guards, warehouse operatives and farm labourers.
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“None of these jobs are the ones the government is shouting about in its growth strategy – yet, in towns and cities across the country, especially in deindustrialised areas, they are all that exist.
“Despite acknowledging the dangers work poses to many disabled people, the review, like many before it, focuses mostly on employers and what can be done to support them, with little concrete suggestions to bolster disabled people’s rights in the workplace. We struggle to see the impact it will have.’”
Employers lose £85bn a year as a result of sickness, turnover, and lost productivity, the Keep Britain Working review finds.
Tom Pollard, head of policy at mental health charity Mind, said that the report “rightly recognises “that the system is already under strain and that without timely investment in support, especially for young people, the challenges will only deepen”.
But he added: “Our mental health is heavily shaped by wider systemic issues, including poverty, discrimination and trauma. Employers have a vital role to play in prevention and support, but they cannot solve these challenges alone and we need to also see a clearer strategy for tackling these drivers of poor mental health and improving mental health services.”
Mind wants to see “employers’ ambitions go beyond meeting the minimum legal requirements and instead push the boundaries of what good practice looks like”.
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The review considers practices that work in countries including the Netherlands and Denmark, which are believed to have much more effective systems for keeping employees in good health. The Mental Health Foundation is calling on the government to consider emulating their approaches.
“The UK government must also play a role in recognising and rewarding those employers who lead the way on fostering positive workplaces, for example through grants and certification schemes, and disincentivising those who fail to do so,” said Mark Rowland, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation.
“Ultimately, employment is only one of a range of factors that impact our mental health. We need to see action across society if the UK government is to help more of us stay mentally healthy, including a focus on helping people access preventative support much earlier in their mental health journey.”
This review comes at a time when trust in the DWP is low among disabled people and those with long-term health conditions, following months of government announcements around benefit cuts. It was forced to U-turn on cuts this summer, but only after significant backlash from Labour MPs.
As they set out plans for disability benefit cuts, ministers repeatedly stressed that they wanted to see more disabled people in work.
Mencap has found that 86% of people with a learning disability who are not in work want a paid job, but there are “currently too few inclusive roles and training opportunities to support them into employment”.
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Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Mencap welcomed the review and said: “Change is urgently needed for people with a learning disability to access simple adjustments – such as more accessible communication or on the job support to help them get bedded into a role.
“We look forward to working with more employers on creating inclusive workplaces, and hope that this review will not only boost the economy but also create a fairer society – helping people with a learning disability to get onto the career ladder and reach their full potential.”
The DWP has already announced that Jobcentres around the UK will be “overhauled” and there will be a greater focus on locally-driven support, as well as a youth guarantee to ensure that every young person is either in work, education or training.
However, charities have long called for greater support to address the barriers disabled people face to accessing employment.
RNIB’s chief strategy and public affairs officer, Vivienne Francis, said: “We cannot continue with a situation where people with sight loss are unnecessarily falling out of the workplace, whether that’s because employers don’t know how to support them or because of systems not working.”
Around 11,000 people with sight loss are currently looking for employment. Francis added: “This review marks an important first step in fixing this and must be a turning point towards lasting change.”
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