A new government scheme aimed at tackling long-term workplace sickness has been dismissed by business leaders and advisers as woefully inadequate, with critics warning it amounts to “emptying the ocean with a teaspoon”.
The initiative, announced this morning by the Department for Work and Pensions, will fund occupational health training for 5,000 line managers working in small and medium-sized enterprises across England. The free training, delivered by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, will run between January and March next year and is designed to help managers spot early signs of health-related issues and intervene before employees fall out of work altogether.
Ministers say the scheme will help address what they describe as an inherited crisis, with more than 2.8 million people currently signed off as long-term sick — one of the highest rates in the G7. Government-commissioned analysis has found that around 800,000 more working-age adults are now out of work due to sickness than in 2019.
The financial cost to small businesses is significant. Replacing an employee lost to ill health costs more than £11,000 on average, while each day of sickness absence is estimated to cost firms about £120 in lost profit. The training will focus on equipping line managers to recognise warning signs such as persistent fatigue, changes in behaviour and rising absence levels, and to have more supportive conversations about workplace adjustments.
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