On 23 September 2026 the government published its latest update on the Keep Britain Working review, which Sir Charlie Mayfield led in 2025. It sets out the shape of a new Workplace Health System, and its central idea is simple: the earlier health problems are noticed, the more likely people are to stay in work. In the update’s own words, “The cheapest intervention is always the earliest one.”
Why the government is acting
The numbers in the update are stark. Health-related economic inactivity costs the UK about £212 billion a year, close to 7% of GDP. 2.8 million working-age people are economically inactive because of ill health or disability, around 800,000 more than in 2019, and around 300,000 people with a health condition leave work every year.
Timing matters. Someone absent for four to six weeks has a 96% chance of returning to work. After a year, fewer than half do. Once someone is economically inactive for health reasons, their chance of being in work a year later is just 3.8%.
The update also points to younger workers. Between 2015 and 2024, the number of people aged 16 to 34 reporting a work-limiting health condition rose by 1.2 million, and 530,000 of that rise was mental health.
What is being proposed
The Workplace Health System has three parts: better, more inclusive workplaces; better workplace health provision; and better intelligence on what is happening. Responsibility is shared between employers, employees, providers, local areas and government.
- A standard for employers. The British Standards Institution is developing an outcome-focused standard for employers.
- Example employer commitments. The update describes these as illustrative early examples rather than firm proposals. They include a work and health conversation within eight weeks of someone joining, a conversation within five working days of a health issue being raised, contact on the first day of absence where possible and no later than day three, and a return-to-work plan for any absence, particularly those likely to last more than four weeks.
- Workplace Health Provision. A model with four functions: advice and guidance, case management, early support and treatment (including mental health and musculoskeletal problems), and insight for employers. The update says digital delivery is being explored to lower costs and reach more people.
- A Work and Health Toolkit. An early prototype of a simple tool employees complete themselves. Answers are private by default, and employers would only see grouped insight above a suppression threshold.
- Better data. A Workplace Health Intelligence Unit to set common measures and report publicly, and an employer data project starting this autumn.
- Help for smaller employers. Pooled buying through local areas and sector bodies, shared insurance schemes and support through larger firms’ supply chains.
What it means for employers today
None of this is mandatory. The update says it is not a condition of sick pay, employment or access to support. Work continues with the employers taking part in the review, and a phased roll-out plan is due ahead of the 2027 Spending Review. But the direction is clear, and it costs little to start moving now:
- Compare your sickness absence process with the example commitments, especially first-day contact and early conversations.
- Get your absence data in order, so you can see patterns before they become problems.
- Make support available before someone is off sick, not only once they are.
- Look after privacy. People are far more likely to use support they trust.
- If you are a smaller employer, ask your local authority or sector body whether pooled occupational health is available near you.
Where VYVE fits
To be clear about what we are and are not: VYVE is not an occupational health provider, and we do not replace case management, clinical treatment or a GP.
What we do sits at the very front of the picture the update describes. VYVE gives people everyday support across their mind, body and connections, so they can notice how they are doing and act early: daily check-ins, a personal plan, access to counsellors and group therapy, training and running plans, and expert-led communities. Employers see anonymised, grouped insight only, the same privacy principle the government’s toolkit is built on.
Our mission is to help make that early stage normal, so fewer people reach the point where a fit note is the first sign anything was wrong. When someone needs more than everyday support, the right next step is occupational health, their GP or the NHS, and we will always point them there.
See VYVE for employers or book a demo.
Sources: GOV.UK, Keep Britain Working: a national growth opportunity, September 2026; GOV.UK, Keep Britain Working collection, including the November 2025 final report.
This article is general information, not legal or occupational health advice.