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The UK’s ill-health employment gap is among the widest in the EU

“If we look at Europe, we know it doesn’t have to be like this," said IES' Zofia Bajorek

The UK’s employment gap between people with and without health limitations is among the widest in the EU15, a study from the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) has found.

Zofia Bajorek, senior research fellow at the IES told HR magazine: “It’s quite concerning that the UK hasn’t recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic the way that other European countries have. There is clearly something wrong with how policies are being made or implemented.”

According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, between December 2023 and February 2024, 2.8 million people were economically inactive due to long-term sickness.

“If we look at Europe, we know it doesn’t have to be like this. Good HR, strong support and evidence based interventions could really help UK organisations with ill-health,” Bajorek added.


Read more: Number of long-term sick set to surge, commission warns


The EU15 includes Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.

The IES study, published on Tuesday (28 January), also revealed that one in five UK workers (21%) report health limitations. People aged 16 to 24 with health limitations were more than twice as likely to be out of work in 2022 than they had been pre-pandemic in the UK.

For older workers, aged 55 to 64, the likelihood of being out of work due to ill-health decreased for most EU15 countries between 2018 and 2022, but it increased for the UK.

Bajorek said that with an ageing workforce, it is particularly important that organisations should focus on job design to ensure older workers can remain in work.

She said: “It’s important that we focus on good quality work, and look at what workers are capable of through job design and job crafting. That way we’re able to keep hold of older workers, no matter what their health is. 

“As the workforce lives longer with multiple health conditions, we need to start this now and prevent worsening problems for the future.”

The report follows a prediction from Petra Wilson, director of policy and external affairs at the Chartered Management Institute, that long-term sickness will be employers greatest challenge of 2025. 

In an opinion piece for HR magazine, Wilson said: “Employers must urgently rethink support for staff with long-term health conditions, or risk slower growth, reduced productivity and greater strain on our NHS.”

As part of the Get Britain Working white paper, the government set out plans to improve accessibility in workplaces for those with disabilities and health conditions. It included plans to better link up health, work and skills support, and reduce NHS waiting times.


Read more: Long-term sickness will be the toughest challenge of 2025


Bertrand Stern-Gillet, CEO at EAP provider Health Assured, told HR magazine that, in a difficult recruitment market, it is particularly important that employers support those with health conditions.

He said: “Employers may find themselves missing out on the best talent by not considering supporting people with health conditions.

“Although it may require some extra work or cost for the employer, the benefits of hiring the best candidate can far outweigh this.”

Wilson said that employers should focus on upskilling managers, fostering healthy and inclusive workplaces, and prioritising flexibility at work.

“To tackle economic inactivity, we must empower managers with the skills, support, and tools needed to create inclusive, compassionate workplaces. Policy and legislation alone won’t solve the issue; great managers will be the ones to get Britain working again,” she said.

For its part, the IES study recommends taking learnings from abroad, including working time legislation, which could include a right to disconnect, incentivising good employer practice, delivery of in-house occupational health services, uprated sick pay, workplace adjustments and mandated employment quotas of disabled people. 

For example, in 2016, France established a device switch off law. In Finland, the government imposes a duty on employers to fund preventative healthcare for employees.

However, Bajorek added, there is still a need for more research regarding what will solve the UK’s ill-health employment gap.

“There’s still a lot to learn. It’s clear the government is taking this seriously, but part of their efforts need to be funding more research into what will actually work.”