Employees should receive health checks when starting new jobs to address Britain's rising sickness absence and the growing number of workers leaving employment due to ill health, according to senior Labour adviser Sir Charlie Mayfield. The former John Lewis chairman, leading a government-commissioned review, said the UK could learn from countries like Finland and Japan by introducing mandatory health assessments at hiring and after prolonged absences.
Phased Introduction of Health MOTs
In an update to his Keep Britain Working review, Sir Charlie called for a phased rollout of staff health MOTs, starting with large employers or specific regions as a pilot, overseen by the government. He emphasized strong data safeguards, ensuring no individual health data is shared with employers. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he stated: "What we have to do is establish a norm that employers are on the pitch when it comes to health issues."
Prevention and Early Action
Sir Charlie urged employers to act early: "We are really strongly encouraging employers to think about developing what we call stay in work plans, so rather than just waiting for someone to leave work, act early, talk to them early, see if you can make adjustments that allow that person to stay in work while they're getting better." The report estimates that if 1% of the 33 million people off work sick—some 330,000—returned to work, it would add the equivalent of Cardiff's population to the workforce. He called this "growth hiding in plain sight."
Data Privacy Concerns
Addressing data collection concerns, Sir Charlie proposed a trusted intermediary to collect health and work-ability data, rather than employers. The report states: "Confidentiality, consent and trust, particularly around sensitive health data, will be central concerns." If challenges are resolved, the potential is "a powerful national data asset capable of driving a step change in system performance and outcome-based policymaking."
Cost of Poor Workplace Health
His initial November report highlighted a culture of fear around ill health, inconsistent support systems, and structural challenges for disabled people. It found poor workplace health costs the UK around 7% of economic output and employers about £85 billion annually. The review aims to reduce premature workforce exits due to ill health, recommending shared responsibility among employers, employees, and health services, rather than leaving it solely to workers and the NHS.
