Leading employers and workplace wellbeing experts have urged the government not to sideline employee health and productivity reforms, warning that rising unemployment and growing fiscal pressures make action more urgent than ever.
At a meeting of the Policy Liaison Group on Workplace Wellbeing on 21 November – chaired by Gethin Nadin and led by renowned psychologist Professor Sir Cary Cooper – participants agreed that the recommendations in Sir Charlie Mayfield’s recent Keep Britain Working review must be rapidly converted into policy and practice. Unemployment has now reached 5%, and many businesses fear next week’s Budget will tighten the screw further.
Speakers drew parallels between Mayfield’s review and Cooper’s own 2008 Mental Capital and Wellbeing Review, noting how little progress has been made in embedding wellbeing into business strategy despite a strong evidence base linking employee health to productivity, retention and economic performance.
The group warned that the UK risks repeating historic mistakes by treating wellbeing initiatives as optional extras rather than core productivity drivers, especially at a time when employers are already facing rising taxes, labour market instability and soaring energy costs.
A central criticism was the lack of infrastructure needed to support meaningful change. Experts said frameworks for measuring wellbeing, modern internal surveys, standardised reporting processes and support for SMEs were essential. Smaller firms, which employ the majority of the UK workforce, often lack the tools and resources to manage health and wellbeing strategically.
Participants also stressed that ownership of wellbeing cannot sit solely within HR or compliance teams. Instead, it must be embedded across leadership, management and organisational culture. Promoting managers based on emotional intelligence as well as technical competence was seen as key to creating psychologically safe, high-performing workplaces capable of early intervention and sustained support.
With businesses still feeling the impact of last year’s National Insurance rise and bracing for possible changes to salary sacrifice schemes, contributors urged the government to consider tax relief and financial incentives to help employers build and maintain wellbeing systems.
Sir Cary Cooper said the UK’s long-standing productivity problem will not improve without addressing workforce health. “If we build the systems that allow organisations to measure, track and improve wellbeing, we will have healthier people, stronger workplaces and much better productivity across the economy,” he said.
Gethin Nadin argued that current expectations of employers are unrealistic. “Public health is a core function of the state, not a corporate add-on,” he said. “Expecting employers to shoulder growing elements of the welfare state — without structural support or meaningful financial incentives — is not sustainable.”
Other contributors raised concerns about rising financial stress among employees, the impact of taxable healthcare benefits on take-home pay, and the acute vulnerability of SMEs. Sandra Dyball warned: “If one person is absent, that could be 25% of the total workforce.”
The consensus was clear: with economic pressures rising, workplace wellbeing cannot be deprioritised. Employers, unions and government must work together to build a healthier, more resilient labour market — and deliver on the long-standing recommendations that have been allowed to gather dust for too long.
