Labour Party Conference:
Workplace sickness prevention critical to a healthier nation and stronger economy
Health experts, speaking at the Labour Party Conference, have stressed the need for better early intervention and preventative efforts by employers to tackle workplace sickness and improve UK health outcomes.
The group of experts, including Lewis Atkinson MP, Chair of PLP Departmental Group for Health and Social Care, set out how increased prevention and support at work could reduce absenteeism and pressure on the NHS.
Convened by Simplyhealth, the panel will work in their respective sectors to ensure a greater role for businesses in reducing workplace sickness levels.
UK employees were on average off sick for nearly two full weeks in the last year, while Simplyhealth research shows many face barriers to accessing workplace health support.
At the same time, rising costs and the tax treatment of workplace health benefits have forced many businesses – particularly smaller ones – to make difficult decisions about the cover they can provide employees.
Monday 29 September 2025, Liverpool: Early intervention and preventative efforts by employers to tackle long-term health conditions is crucial to improving health outcomes across the UK, a panel of health experts has said at the Labour Party Conference.
Speaking at a fringe event – convened by healthcare services and plan provider Simplyhealth - leading voices from politics, health, and business set out how prioritising prevention in the workplace would further the government’s 10 Year Plan for the NHS and its ongoing review into keeping Britain working and economic growth mission.
The event – Workplace Health, National Wealth: Prioritising Prevention for a Healthier Economy – heard from panel members including Lewis Atkinson MP, Theresa Bischof, Head of Campaigns and Communications of The Good Growth Foundation; Paul Schreier, CEO of Simplyhealth; and Richard Sloggett, CEO of Future Health.
Greater involvement by employers in the delivery of health provision amongst the whole of the working population could significantly reduce absenteeism, boost productivity and alleviate demand on the NHS – all while strengthening the UK economy – the experts agreed.
Currently, 2.8 million working-age adults in Britain are out of work due to a long-term health condition1, with more than 200,000 people leaving work specifically for health reasons in 2023/242. Sickness-related absence is costing an estimated £150 billion every year3, with the latest report – Health and Wellbeing at Work – from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and Simplyhealth finding the average UK employee was off work for nearly 2 weeks in the last 12 months due to sickness.
In response, the group declared tackling the root causes of sickness absence a national priority. The discussion centred on the impact of mental ill health issues, often caused by high workloads and stress, and musculoskeletal pain, brought on by repetitive, prolonged tasks or lack of movement, and both were identified in the same report by CIPD and Simplyhealth as the current leading causes of long-term absence.
Employers are eager to step up their support, with three-quarters (73%) feeling a responsibility to do more to look after their employees’ health, according to research conducted earlier this year. However, the findings also reveal that over half (53%) of British workers who use workplace health benefits have experienced barriers to accessing them. A sixth (16%) said they had to ask their line manager for approval beforehand, while one in ten (9%) said their pre-existing conditions were not included in the cover.
With more people managing conditions in the workplace, support for pre-existing conditions will be of increasing importance, yet a third (31%) of employers worry about the difficulty in finding health plans for employees that cover pre-existing conditions. Over the past decade, the tax burden on employee healthcare has risen sharply – reaching up to 72% in some cases – and hitting small businesses hardest, with only 45% of micro firms providing cover, compared with 98% of large companies.
Lewis Atkinson MP, Chair of PLP Departmental Group for Health and Social Care:
"The Government’s 10 Year Health Plan recognises the need for NHS services to better fit around people’s lives, including their jobs, and the need to shift focus from treatment to prevention. Employers have a key role in enabling this – promoting good health in the workplace and adopting a supportive approach to help employees manage conditions while they stay at work. Good work is good for health, and a healthier workforce means a stronger economy.
Paul Schreier, CEO of Simplyhealth, said:
“It’s clear that employers have a crucial role to play in reducing long-term sickness absence, but current pressures on businesses have resulted in significant variation between workers who are offered workplace health benefits, and still too many barriers to access for those who do have them. By formally bringing businesses into the fold, enabling them to collaborate with health providers and reducing burdensome taxes on workplace health provision, we can ensure employers have a clearer share in the responsibility of healthcare in the UK.”
Richard Sloggett, CEO of Future Health, said:
"Long-term sickness absence is undeniably holding back both our health services and our economy. Prevention has to move from merely being an aspiration and turned into a reality, and businesses have a central role to play. Over a quarter of businesses have told us they have seen an increase in sickness absence in the last 12 months, so enabling them to play a bigger role in the health of the UK workforce has the potential to improve outcomes and create a more resilient and productive nation.”
The panel agreed to work within their respective sectors to ensure the role of businesses in tackling workplace sickness is championed, ensuring prevention becomes a central pillar in shaping a healthier, more productive workforce.
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