A senior insurance executive has warned that the increase in working from home following the Covid pandemic has exacerbated a rapid growth in sick leave in the UK which is in danger of harming the economy.
Peter Hamilton, head of market engagement for Zurich and a disability ambassador, was speaking as the company’s research found that the cost of long-term sick leave is set to double by 2030 to an eyewatering £66.3 billion a year in lost productivity.
He has urged the government to encourage bosses to take more responsibility for the wellbeing of their staff and take a lead in helping with rehabilitation.
Among the ideas he has proposed is to ensure that companies have good practices in terms of making sure those who work from home have chairs and suitable equipment to avoid conditions like bad backs which can leave employees on long-term sick leave.
He has also proposed increasing statutory sick pay “to incentivise” companies to find ways to help their employees get back to work.
In the last year, 112.5 million sick days have been taken by those with long-term conditions – despite this, just one third of these workers were offered employer support to get back to work.
The two main causes of absence were mental health (44%) and musculoskeletal problems (14%), costing the economy a combined £12 billion every year.
Small and medium sized companies are hit the hardest, picking up 76% of the 2023 long-term sick bill totalling £24.7 billion.
The issue with musculoskeletal problems which includes bad backs or other debilitating physical conditions is what has most raised concerns about the increase in working from home.
Hamilton said: “We haven’t got direct empirical evidence that would prove that kind of causal link between working from home and musculoskeletal. But there is no doubt I think that chunk of those cases will be from just poor posture.”
He went on: “And again, it doesn’t have to be the case because a good employer will compel you, as Zurich does, to go through a test to say, I’ve got the right chair, is my is my laptop at the right height? Am I sitting comfortably? Basically, a separate question as to how will I comply with that regime.
“But a lot of companies may not have got the resource to go through that setup process. So you’d hope again the enlightened companies will look to recognise that working from home, there will be different setups some of which may actually lead to and exacerbate exactly as you say. So instead of not made it better, it probably had made it worse.”
He was also worried that Britain’s sick pay which leaves long term absentees on just 30% of their wages meant that companies do not feel they need to make the effort to rehabilitate those who have been off for long periods.
“One of the areas you might expect the government to be looking at is a reform of statutory sick pay. So actually there is more of a vested interest for employers to keep their employees healthy, because there will be a financial burden on them if they are expected to support their workers for longer when they’re off sick.
“You want them to you want them to be aligned interests between employee and employer.”
Mr Hamilton made it clear he did not believe the UK has a sick note culture but more of a problem with wider support in getting people back to work.
He suggested that the massive rise in mental health issues such as depression was “about people being more aware of mental health and society more accepting”.
He said: “The wider issue here isn’t about people wanting to be off work – the vast majority want to get back to ‘normal life’ as quickly as they can. There is a requirement for multiple interventions from both the Government and employers to make sure people have the support they need to rehabilitate.
“We’d really like to see the Government set out a long-term roadmap to tackle the issue of workplace health head on and for rehabilitation – the unsung hero which helps people back to work – to be an integral part of this.”
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who last year wrote a report published by the Fabian Society: Healthy Britain: a new approach to health & wellbeing policy, said: “I’m pleased to say that awareness is increasing among employers of the benefits of improving the health and wellbeing of their workforce but there is definitely more to be done.
“Zurich’s research shows the need to spread best practice among employers about how to prevent illness in the workplace through a national ‘health at work’ standard, including provision of vital vocational rehabilitation services, to return the long-term sick to productive employment.
“As I set out in my Healthy Britain Report in 2023, I believe we need a much more comprehensive approach to the health and wellbeing of the nation, and increased support from employers will help unlock the full potential of the UK’s workforce and generate economic growth.”
