Insurance giant Zurich has launched a campaign to call on government to do more to help rehabilitate Britons back into the workplace.
Speaking to FT Adviser, Peter Hamilton, head of market engagement for Zurich and the government's disability and access ambassador for the insurance sector, said rehabilitation has been "overlooked" for years, despite being something that would "benefit everyone".
He said: "It benefits the individuals, the company for whom they work, and the UK economy as a whole."
The campaign aims to get policy makers to include rehabilitation as a component of its workplace health roadmap, and has already gained the support of Kim Leadbeater MP for Batley and Spen.
Leadbeater said: "The UK’s workforce is not fighting fit. I’m pleased to say that awareness is increasing among employers of the benefits of improving the health and wellbeing of their workforce but there is definitely more to be done.
"As I set out in my Healthy Britain Report in 2023, I believe we need a much more comprehensive approach to the health and wellbeing of the nation, and increased support from employers will help unlock the full potential of the UK’s workforce and generate economic growth.”
The campaign launch comes shortly after the government announced it had appointed Dame Carol Black to head up its review into occupational health task force.
The task force aims to improve employer awareness of the benefits of occupational health in the workplace, tackle in-work sicknesses and help grow the economy.
In 2023, the government launched its Occupational Health Innovation Fund, which has provided £1mn funding to 10 projects to develop innovative new models of occupational health, using technology to improve the capacity and capability of occupational health providers and increase access for SMEs.
But Hamilton said the issue of long-term sickness among Britain's workforce needed to go beyond occupational health and tackle the process of successful rehabilitation.
He pointed to some recent research Zurich commissioned from the Centre for Economics Business and Research, which showed that, at current rates of growth, the cost of long-term sick leave is set to almost to double by 2030.
This would cost the economy £66.3bn a year in lost productivity.
Responding to the figures, Leadbeater said Zurich’s research showed the need to spread best practice among employers about how to prevent illness in the workplace through a national ‘health at work’ standard.
This would include the "provision of vital vocational rehabilitation services, to return the long-term sick to productive employment".
Bridge from benefits
He said: "Clearly the issue with long-term sickness from work is not new and it is good to see the new government taskforce being created.
"But formal recognition of rehabilitation is one of those component parts which has been absent from many discussions about getting people back into work.
