Over 250 major UK employers join initiative to tackle workplace sickness

More than 250 of Britain's largest employers have signed up to a taskforce aiming to reduce long-term sickness absence and support employees back into work.

The Get Britain Working initiative, led by former John Lewis chair Sir Charlie Mayfield, includes major names such as British Airways, Tesco, Royal Mail, Sainsbury's, and EDF Energy. Ten mayoral authorities, including London and Manchester, have also committed to the scheme.

Participating companies will track sickness absence, return-to-work outcomes, and disability participation—making workplace health performance visible for the first time, according to government officials.

Sir Charlie said the initiative could unlock economic growth whilst helping to reduce welfare spending, which is forecast to account for 23.6% of government expenditure in 2025–26. Official figures estimate that long-term illness costs the UK economy £212bn annually.

The taskforce will focus on maintaining contact between employers and absent staff—a gap Sir Charlie identified as a key problem. "I can't tell you how many people I've met who said: I was signed off work for three months, or six months, and I never had any contact with my employer at all," he told the BBC.

The initiative forms part of the government's broader strategy to reduce economic inactivity linked to ill health.