Give workers health checks when they start new jobs, says Labour adviser

Employees should be given health checks when starting new jobs to help tackle sickness among Britain’s workforce and rising numbers of those leaving jobs due to ill health, according to senior Labour adviser Sir Charlie Mayfield.

The former John Lewis chairman said the UK could learn from countries such as Finland and Japan and introduce mandatory health checks for workers when they join companies, and at other trigger points, such as after long periods of absence.

In an update to his Keep Britain Working review, Sir Charlie has called for a phased introduction of staff health MOTs, starting with large employers or certain regions as an initial pilot, with the scheme overseen by the Government.

He said there would need to be strong safeguards over personal data, with assurances that no individual data would be shared with employers.

Sir Charlie told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “What we have to do is we have to establish a norm, which is that employers are on the pitch when it comes to health issues, and what that means is some of the specifics we’ve been working with employers to develop is taking as much action you can as you can around prevention.”

He added that action needed to be taken by employers at an early stage: “We are really strongly encouraging employers to think about developing what we call stay in work plans, so rather than just waiting for someone to leave work, you know, act early, talk to them early, see if you can make some adjustments that allow that person to stay in work while they’re getting better.”

The report estimates that if 1% of the 33 million people off work sick were able to return to work – some 330,000 – that would be equivalent of Cardiff as a city to the wider nation’s workforce.

Sir Charlie told the Today programme: “You wouldn’t have had to build a single house, you wouldn’t have to open a new channel of immigration, you wouldn’t have to wait for a cohort of young people to join the workplace, you could do that.

“This is basically growth hiding in plain sight.”

He said while there may be concerns around collecting data for health checks, this could be managed carefully.

In the report he said: “We are very conscious of the challenges surrounding the collection of health and work-ability data.

“Confidentiality, consent and trust, particularly around sensitive health data, will be central concerns.

“There is a strong case for a trusted intermediary to collect this data, rather than expecting employers to deliver this.”

“If these challenges can be addressed the potential is significant: a powerful national data asset capable of driving a step change in system performance, and outcome-based policymaking,” he added.

His initial repot, released in November, told of a culture of fear among workers around ill health, a lack of an effective or consistent support system for employers and employees in managing health, and structural challenges for disabled people.

It also found that poor workplace health costs the country around 7% of economic output and UK employers around £85 billion a year.

His report was commissioned as the Government looks to bring down the number of people leaving the workforce prematurely due to ill health each year.

He recommended a new approach where responsibility for health at work is shared between employers, employees and health services – rather than being left to the worker and the NHS.