Paul Schreier, chief executive of Simplyhealth, explains why businesses are crucial to moving health from hospitals to communities
Last month, the prime minister, health secretary, and chancellor set out plans to transform healthcare in the UK. Describing NHS conditions as “chronic”, Keir Starmer said that reform was about more than just fixing problems – it was also about seizing opportunities.
A key reform in the government’s 10 Year Health Plan for the NHS is to move healthcare out of hospitals and into communities, in the hope of reducing waiting lists, freeing up hospitals, improving access to GP appointments and, crucially, shifting to a healthcare approach that prevents rather than just treats sickness.
Yet, while the plan makes clear that this shift will require full cross-societal efforts, it stops short of fully recognising the opportunities that can be unlocked by one of the biggest players in people’s lives: their employers.
The Keep Britain Working Review is looking at the role employers can play in tackling economic inactivity due to sickness. The government says it will use the findings to explore how the intersection of work and health can be improved, but with 2.8 million people currently out of work on long-term sick leave, the need for immediate action couldn’t be more pressing.
Rising sick days
Last year, nearly 150 million working days were lost to sickness or injury – 10 million higher than pre-pandemic levels. Annually, long-term sickness among those of working age is costing the UK £150 billion. Our own research at Simplyhealth found that, for over a third (38%) of businesses, the rising number of sick days was the most common problem they faced. This all inevitably impacts businesses’ bottom lines and further hinders productivity and economic growth – a key priority for the government and something business leaders up and down the country are desperate to see progress on.
Employers are in an unrivalled position to move the dial on employee sickness by promoting wellbeing and early intervention in the workplace to the benefit of working people, the NHS, and the economy alike. Providing employees with a robust package of workplace healthcare benefits can ensure they get the health support they need early on and reduce the number of people falling into long-term sickness, which could reach 4.3 million by the end of this parliament.
Most importantly, our research also shows that employers actively want to support their employees, with nearly three-quarters (73%) saying they feel a greater responsibility to look after their employees’ health due to the challenges facing the NHS.
Employers play a huge role in the lives of working people and are incredibly well-placed to deliver preventative care and support the wider shift to care in communities. But as it stands, current workplace health provision can be complex and costly, especially for small businesses. Seven in ten (72%) employers want to offer more health benefits to their employees, but are concerned that they’re too expensive.
Ease of access to workplace benefits for employees is also key. Health benefit offerings are often too complicated, with challenges such as pre-existing conditions not being covered or the need for pre-authorisation by a manager before employees can access services.
Removing barriers to employers offering health benefits in the first place should be a priority for the government, and it should start by looking at the tax system. As it stands, the tax burden for providing employee healthcare has increased significantly in the past ten years. Insurance premium tax, currently at 12%, has doubled since 2015, and tax can add up to 72% on premiums for products, depending on an employee’s tax band. Tax disproportionately hits our country’s smallest businesses, with only 45% of micro businesses offering cover to staff, versus 98% of large firms.
Reducing the tax burden would enable more workplaces, of any size and sector, to offer health benefits to their whole workforce, meaning every employee has access before they get sick.
Centre of the communities
We’ve already seen this approach achieve results, with organisations that implement mental health training for managers, for example, reporting a 30% reduction in mental health-related absences. Our own findings show that nearly half (48%) of employees say that having health benefits at work would mean they take fewer sick days, and more than two-thirds (68%) believe that health benefits would help them take better care of their health.
The NHS will, of course, remain the backbone of healthcare in the UK, but employers need to be seen as more than just side players. They are, in fact, at the centre of the communities the government wants to move healthcare into.
If we truly want to move away from a system that too often waits for people to get sick before intervening, we must bring businesses into the fold. Only then can we truly seize the full opportunities to make the government’s 10 Year Health Plan a reality.
