You might be forgiven for missing the Keep Britain Working review headed by Sir Charlie Mayfield, a businessman and former chair of department store, John Lewis. The review was commissioned by the Department of Work and Pensions in response to increasing economic inactivity and health-related work absences.1 According to the review, 20% of working-age people are now out of work and not looking for work, higher than comparable European countries (14.5–17.7%). There are currently 2.8 million people out of work due to ill health in the UK, an increase of 800 000 since 2019, and this number is set to rise further. The longer someone is out of work, the lower the chance of a return to work. Disabled people are more likely to be self-employed as this is often perceived as the only option with only 1 in 2 employed. For employers, sickness absence costs £85 billion annually through sick pay, lost output due to sickness, lost productivity from presenteeism, and litigation. The report quantifies the societal cost of economic inactivity due to ill health at £212 billion annually in lost output from work and unpaid caring, extra NHS costs and health-related benefits.
History of the ‘sick note’ and research on sickness certification
The ‘sick note’ was first introduced on 5 July 1948 with the emergence of the welfare state, but earlier forms of sickness certification were issued by independent organisations including …
