A SQUAD of work and health coaches will wage war on sicknote culture by helping the ill and disabled stay in work.
They will prepare personalised plans for tens of thousands of people across England so they can carry on with their jobs.
Support might include physiotherapy, counselling, workplace adjustments such as flexible hours, and debt advice.
The £64million WorkWell programme will be tested in 15 areas, including Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire and Cornwall, from October.
It comes after PM Rishi Sunak vowed to get tough on state handouts and Britain’s sicknote culture by removing power from GPs to sign workers off as ill. The Government wants WorkWell to issue sicknotes.
It would mean those who request one have a work and health conversation and are directed to employment support services so they can get help to remain in work or get a job.
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said: “WorkWell will link people at risk of unemployment with community services like physiotherapy, counselling, and money advice to ensure the barriers they face don’t hold them back.
“It’s part of a wider plan to deliver the long-term change our country needs to deliver a brighter future for Britain, and improve economic security and opportunity for everyone.”
WorkWell will be for anyone with a health condition or disability, including mental health conditions, who wants to work.
By MEL STRIDE, Work and Pensions Secretary
FAR too many people are signed off work in a spiral of sickness that ends up hurting their finances, their prospects and ultimately their health.
When we know that with the right support and adjustments, people can stay in or return to work sooner, that is an injustice I am determined to put right.
Not least because the benefits bill for working age disabled people and people with health conditions ballooned by almost two thirds to £69 billion since the pandemic.
Ten million people a year are classed as ‘not fit for work’, while 850,000 people have become economically inactive since the pandemic.
Let’s be clear, there is a near record level of people on company payrolls, up by over 200,000 since last year, real wages have risen for nine months in a row, and economic inactivity is still lower than in the US, France and Italy.
But the level of worklessness we are still seeing is unacceptable, unsustainable, and, I believe, completely avoidable.
The mental health and financial benefits of good work are proven which is why this Government is delivering the biggest welfare shake-up in a generation to turn the tide on these numbers.
We have a plan to put it right. Our reforms will make sure anyone who can work, can stay in long-term employment with the right support.
It’s fairer on the individual, so they aren’t held back on benefits, and fairer for British taxpayers.
But we know for this to work, people need to be properly supported.
The health of our nation has changed since the pandemic and so we need to give people the help they need to carry on working instead of signing off their potential.
Today, we’ve announced 15 parts of the country covering one third of Integrated Care Boards in England that will pilot a new joined-up work and health service, so we can support people to stay in work and strengthen our economy.
From Manchester to Cornwall and London to Leicester, WorkWell will link people at risk of unemployment with community services like physiotherapy, counselling, and money advice to ensure the barriers they face don’t hold them back.
And this isn’t the only help we’re rolling out – its part of a wider, bolder plan to deliver the long-term change our country needs to deliver a brighter future for Britain, and improve economic security and opportunity for everyone.
We’ve made NHS Talking Therapies available for an extra 384,000 people’s much needed health conditions, we’re rolling out Universal Support to match 100,000 people with jobs that work for them, and we’ve extended the Restart scheme to give people the skills and training they need to land work.
In fact, we’ve got a whole Back to Work Plan to help over a million people find and secure a job.
This Government is on a moral mission to see everyone who can work, contributing to our economy.
Because keeping Brits in work will benefit us all - so, let’s stick to the plan and keep building a stronger economy where hard work is rewarded, ambition and aspiration are celebrated, and young people get the skills they need to succeed in life.
