The government has committed to expanding its WorkWell scheme to help up to 250,000 more people with health conditions across England receive support to stay in or return to work.
WorkWell provides personalised, early help for people struggling with their health — connecting them to local services such as physiotherapy, counselling and workplace adjustments.
The programme will be rolled out across all of England, backed by up to £259m over the next three years.
The pilot provided health and employment support in 15 areas, with more than 25,000 people supported to stay in or re-enter work with 48% reporting mental illness as their main barrier to employment, and 59% out of work at their first appointment.
It forms part of the Pathways to Work offer, created to help disabled people and those with health conditions move from welfare into work and provide a joined-up support system for local residents.
The programme is designed differently by acting as an early-intervention, health-led service that is locally designed and integrates with local NHS, council, and community services to prevent people from leaving work due to health issues or supporting them back to work quickly if they fall out.
Bringing together support
WorkWell brings together health and employment support such as physiotherapy and counselling, workplace adjustments and return-to-work plans.
The expansion is part of the work the government is doing to bring down NHS waiting lists and tackle the inherited issue of 2.8 million people out of work due to long-term sickness – the highest in the G7.
Participants do not need to be claiming any government benefits and receive personalised support from a work and health coach to understand their current health and social barriers to work and draw up a plan to help them overcome them.
They access services through multiple routes including employer referrals, GP referrals, Jobcentre Plus, local services, or self-referral, creating a ‘no wrong door’ approach to support.
Services provided through the programme vary locally, but can include physiotherapy for back pain and mobility issues, mental health interventions including counselling and psychological support, workplace adjustment advice to help employers accommodate health conditions and ongoing health condition management.
WorkWell will be available through NHS Integrated Care Boards working in partnership with local authorities, Jobcentre Plus, and community organisations to deliver locally designed services that meet specific community needs.
The national rollout follows Sir Charlie Mayfield’s Keep Britain Working Review, which highlighted the urgent need for early intervention in workplace health support, while 1,000 work coaches have been redeployed to provide personalised support for disabled people and those with health conditions.
The government also confirmed data on WorkWell outcomes will be available in due course.
Important step
Brett Hill, head of health and protection at independent financial consultancy Broadstone, said: “The expansion of WorkWell is an important step in tackling record levels of economic inactivity driven by long-term ill health, particularly mental health.
“By providing tailored, health-led support for people who are currently out of work, it has real potential to help more people re-enter employment who might otherwise remain excluded from the labour market.
“Workwell should also nicely complement the Keep Britain Working Review, which sets out how employers can keep people healthy and reduce sickness absence once they are in work.
“Together, and if the right financial incentives and private sector involvement are put in place, they could lead towards a more joined-up, end-to-end strategy that ‘tops and tails’ the labour market – supporting those currently out of work to return, while helping those already employed stay healthy and productive.”
Secretary of state for health and social care Wes Streeting said: “No-one should have to choose between a job they love and their health. WorkWell’s national expansion shows this government is modernising a system that has written people off for too long.
“We’re issuing millions of fit notes a year dismissing people as simply not fit for work. By combining health support with employment support in local communities, WorkWell can give people back their confidence, their purpose and their wellbeing.”
