What CBI and TUC's new Health and Work taskforce hopes to achieve: Beckie Hart

Economic inactivity - the proportion of people who are neither working nor looking for

work – is historically high, with the pandemic tightening the situation. This has

unfortunately continued to impact firms in our region. In fact, research finds that the total

of long-term sick has gone up by 353,000 since COVID-19 - resulting in fewer

employees and lower productivity and growth.

At a time when many firms are struggling to find enough workers to fill vacant positions,

solving long-term sickness is crucial to the health of our people and our economy.

That’s why it was right for the Chancellor to put the crisis at the heart of his Budget earlier this month.

Measures like extra support to help tackle the most common long- term health challenges – such as mental health and musculoskeletal conditions - were welcome and a good start.

However, while the CBI has applauded Jeremy Hunt’s focus on economic inactivity in the so-called Back to Work budget, it won’t be enough to solve long-term sickness.

Government alone can’t solve this challenge.

Business also needs to step up and play its part in preventing illnesses from spiralling.

This is why, along with our partners at the TUC and Health Foundation, the CBI launched our Health and Work taskforce last weekend – a joint project to help businesses and organisations prevent illnesses from taking hold of their workers.

This project is important as many individuals end up in hospital as a result of preventable illnesses.

Prevention is key - not just for moral reasons but for economic ones too.

If people are getting treated earlier, their conditions don’t get worse, they spend less time off work sick and reduce pressure on our national health service.

Research shows that employer-led health interventions like mental health provisions and office ergonomic support – which are independent of all NHS care and treatment – could actually help save £36 billion every year.

Studies also show that interventions could reduce days lost to poor ill health by 20 per cent annually - days that could be used to increase a firm’s productivity and growth.

Better health interventions - made earlier - led by business and backed by government can reduce NHS pressures and health-related inactivity – expect more measures from our Health and Work taskforce in the coming months to help firms help people.

We all need to look at prevention there is a health and economic case to make.

If you would like learn more, the theme for the CBI Q2 People and Skills network meeting on April 18 in Leeds will be workplace health.

Beckie Hart is CBI regional director for Yorkshire and Humber