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Recent research highlights how complex processes are preventing many UK employees from accessing workplace health benefits, despite clear demand for simpler, faster support.
Why UK workplaces are falling short on health benefits
Millions are out of work due to long-term sickness and NHS waiting lists are at record levels. Employers are under pressure to do more — and affordable healthcare solutions could be the solution.
Are employee health plans key to a resilient workforce?
One in nine UK workers took time off for mental ill health last year — often for longer than physical health issues. With NHS services overstretched, employers have both a responsibility and an opportunity to support staff with accessible, affordable mental health care.
Mental health: why employers need to act now
Economic cost and pressure on the NHS are forcing a rethink of how the UK can maintain a healthy and productive workforce
Employers key to modernising workplace health
Mental ill health: why employers need to act now
Return to top
Could meaningful reform of workplace health help solve the UK’s rising long-term sickness and economic inactivity?
Workplace health review signals new benefit options for advisers
Mental ill health and long-term conditions are driving rising staff absence. Employers need simple, affordable wellbeing solutions to improve health, strengthen resilience, and maintain productivity
Workplace Wellbeing
Work-related illness costs the UK economy an estimated £415m a week. But despite this, a third of UK employees are not using their workplace health benefits. According to research from Simplyhealth, there is significant demand for such health benefits, but employees often find they are deterred by barriers to access. For example, a sixth (16%) said they had to ask their line manager for information or approval beforehand, while more than one in ten (13%) needed pre-authorisation from their manager or insurer to use their health benefit. A similar proportion (13%) found the process simply too complicated, while almost one in ten (9%) said their pre-existing conditions were excluded from cover — leaving many of those most in need without effective support. “In today’s healthcare landscape, employers want to enhance employee wellbeing, with workplace health benefits playing a key role,” says Paul Schreier, CEO at Simplyhealth. “However, traditional offerings present too many barriers, being often complex, costly, and hard to access – frequently requiring GP referrals and excluding pre-existing conditions.” “Simplifying these benefits is crucial to removing those barriers and driving uptake of services and ultimately improving the health and wellbeing of employees,” he says. “Additionally, training line managers to recognise signs of struggle, and feel confident to support employees, is vital to keeping people healthy and at work.” For employers, removing these barriers can result in a more resilient workforce – with employees who are healthier, more productive, and more likely to remain in their roles.
The advantages of well-designed, accessible health benefits are clear. Six in ten employees say such benefits make them happier at work. For those who don’t currently receive benefits, more than half believe they would be more productive if they did—and almost as many say they would take fewer sick days. Employers are also increasingly seeing staff wellbeing as a critical issue. Nearly three-quarters (73%) say they want to do more to support employee health, particularly with NHS waiting times at record highs. Recruitment and retention are part of the equation: almost half of employees (48%) say workplace health benefits are an important reason for staying in a job. In a competitive labour market, this makes accessible healthcare support a differentiator, not just a wellbeing perk. But enthusiasm is tempered by concerns. The majority of employers (86%) admit they face obstacles in putting benefits in place, while almost a third (31%) specifically worry about finding plans that cover pre-existing conditions. Cost and complexity are recurring themes, and these barriers help explain why benefits often fall short of expectations. Yet the business case for action is strong. Employers know that effective workplace healthcare boosts productivity, reduces long-term sickness, and strengthens loyalty. In the face of record sickness absence and a shrinking workforce, the cost of doing nothing may be far greater than the investment required to simplify and expand health benefits. “Employers recognise the huge responsibility they have to support the health of their people and the value it creates in terms of reducing long-term sickness and boosting productivity,” says Schreier.
Employers leading the way on workplace wellbeing are well placed to align with the NHS’s focus on prevention when it comes to health and wellbeing. “The government’s 10-Year Plan for the NHS has put prevention at heart of ambitions for the health service, and businesses are very well placed to further those objectives – promoting preventative healthcare that improves productivity while easing pressure on the NHS,” says Schreier. “Simplifying health benefits is one of the first steps businesses can take. It’s why at Simplyhealth we’ve focused on developing a range of affordable healthcare services, including 24/7 GP access, mental health support, health cash plans and pay-as-you-go services. These aim to simplify access, reduce costs and boost uptake, with no GP referral or pre-approval required.”
Too often, employees are discouraged by red tape, exclusions, or the perception that benefits are complicated to use. Long-term sickness crisis is already costing the UK economy billions and shrinking the workforce. Employers alone cannot solve the problem, but they can play a pivotal role. Those that treat workplace healthcare as a strategic priority rather than tick-box exercise will undoubtedly reap the rewards. “Better, more accessible healthcare and wellbeing services have a powerful impact on businesses,” says Schreier. “Access to services, such as 24/7 GP, mental health support and physio, can lead to tangible improvements: over half (51%) companies report higher employee satisfaction, nearly half (46%) see a reduction in sickness absence, and many find it easier to retain (42%) and attract (39%) talent.” “By making healthcare more accessible, businesses can boost morale, reduce downtime, and strengthen their workforce – driving overall success.” Accessible healthcare benefits are no longer just “nice to haves.” They are the foundation of a healthier, more productive workforce.
The value of workplace health schemes
A shift towards prevention
Removing barriers
By making healthcare more accessible, businesses can boost morale, reduce downtime, and strengthen their workforce – driving overall success
Return to home
With a tough economic climate and national insurance increases, rising costs have forced difficult employer decisions – including around employee benefits offerings. Yet there is still a critical case for many benefits – and with 2.8m people currently out of work due to long-term sickness and NHS waiting lists at nearly 7.5m, healthcare is an obvious example. The Government’s recent Keep Britain Working review revealed that work-limiting illnesses are prevalent across all age groups, demonstrating that not only do employers need to offer health benefits, but must ensure they are available to their whole workforce; keeping workers well and ensuring a productive and healthy working environment.
The external pressure on businesses is clear from data we published earlier this year, which found that seven in ten (71%) businesses said they might have to make a trade-off between providing employees with health benefits and other priorities. Despite this pressure, the data also revealed that in the wake of the NHS crisis, nearly three-quarters (73%) of employers say they feel a greater responsibility to look after the health of their employees, an increase of three percentage points from June 2024. Beyond a moral responsibility, our data also showed that employers recognised the value of providing health benefits for a more productive workforce — with almost half (46%) noting employees took fewer sick days as a result. Across all employers (regardless of whether they offered healthcare or not), wider advantages of health benefits such as improved employee health and wellbeing (61%), morale and staff happiness (58%) and employee retention (57%) were also recognised. Yet costs remain a major hurdle. While the majority of businesses feel a responsibility to provide healthcare, three-quarters (72%) of businesses want to offer health benefits but worry it is too expensive. There is clearly an urgent need for accessible, affordable workplace health support to help businesses manage financial pressures while ensuring employees can access the care they need against the backdrop of a struggling health system.
The economic strain faced by so many employers is unfortunately only likely to worsen — in early March 2025, 29% of trading businesses reported that economic uncertainty was already having an impact on their turnover. In order for businesses to offer accessible health benefits to their employees, they need affordable options. Minor illnesses are the leading cause of employee absences, causing almost a quarter (23%) of employees to take time off, followed by joint and muscle pain (12%) and mental health at 11%. To make a real difference to employees, new services need to include access to a 24/7 virtual GP, physio and mental health support, to help address the common conditions that can be quickly remedied and get people back to work faster. Not all available services are created equal. With more working-age people self-reporting long-term health conditions, it is essential that workplaces look for services that cover pre-existing conditions so that the benefits are felt across the whole business, and ensure they deliver on the promise of keeping employees in work. We also know that many businesses are worried about duplicating health benefits. Services therefore need to be tailored to the specific concerns of the workforce. By identifying a provider that can offer a one-stop shop of healthcare solutions, employers can feel confident their investment is protected, only paying for the services most needed by their employees.
With multiple external pressures creating one of the most challenging landscapes in many years, ensuring employees are healthy, in work and productive is one element that employers can influence. However, those same economic strains are affecting the affordability of healthcare benefits. Employers need options that meet the needs of their staff without breaking the bank, so that employees stay healthy and, importantly, days lost to sickness are minimised.
Employer responsibility
Access to more affordable healthcare options
Balancing pressure with opportunity
For businesses to offer accessible health benefits to their employees, they need affordable options
Data from Simplyhealth shows that one in nine (11%) UK workers took time off for mental health reasons in the past year. Over a quarter (27%) of those were away for more than two weeks – far longer than the average absence for minor illnesses or physical issues. Younger employees are most affected: almost one in five (16%) workers aged 18–34 needed time off for mental health compared to one in ten (10%) of those aged 35–54. NHS figures echo the trend, with an estimated 875,000 workers experiencing work-related stress, depression or anxiety, resulting in 17.1m working days lost. “Since 2020, an estimated 375m workdays have been lost, with a record 2.8m people now out of work due to long-term sickness – costing the UK economy around £150bn each year in lost output and productivity,” says Paul Schreier, CEO at Simplyhealth. “The latest CIPD Health and wellbeing at work report, supported by Simplyhealth, revealed that mental ill health is the leading cause of long-term absence and the second most common cause of short-term absence.”
Mental ill health is now the third most common cause of absence after minor illness and musculoskeletal pain. But, despite the scale of the problem, work-based support remains limited. Only 40% of employees have access to health plans or Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs), even though these are relatively low-cost for employers. The business case for investment is clear. Almost half of employers who provide health benefits say they see employees taking fewer sick days. Wider advantages include higher morale, better wellbeing and improved retention. Encouragingly, businesses are aware of the need to step up the support they offer. As NHS waiting lists approach 7.5m in England, three-quarters (73%) of employers say they now feel a greater responsibility to support staff health. “With workers increasingly taking time off for mental health issues, employers need simple, easy and affordable solutions for their employees – particularly when it comes to mental health support,” says Schreier. “By offering access to mental health support to their employees, businesses can help prevent workers’ symptoms from worsening in the first place - enabling a healthier, happier, and more productive workforce.”
Supporting mental health at work is not only a moral duty but also a business imperative. Long-term absence reduces productivity and raises costs, while effective support improves resilience and engagement. The Mental Health Foundation recommends simple steps such as: encouraging open conversations promoting exercise, providing access to confidential helplines. Training managers to recognise signs of distress and guide employees towards support can also make a real difference. “Proper support is critical to help employees struggling with mental health and prevent conditions worsening in the long term,” says Mark Rowland, Chief Executive at the Mental Health Foundation. “While there’s an urgent need for policy changes to better support those struggling, there is also a place for employers to offer accessible and efficient mental health services. This could range from access to 24/7 helplines to long-term counselling, or even mental health first aid training.”
Affordability is often the sticking point. Larger companies may offer extensive programmes, but many small and medium-sized employers worry about the cost. New, low-cost healthcare options are helping to close that gap. Simplyhealth has launched a digital healthcare subscription - Simply Essentials. It focuses on the main causes of absence — mental health and musculoskeletal issues — and provides 24/7 virtual GP and nurse appointments, counselling, digital physiotherapy support, and even legal and financial advice. Covering pre-existing conditions and avoiding GP referrals, it is designed to remove the barriers that stop employees from accessing help. This streamlined, affordable model tackles the exact challenges identified by employees and employers alike: long waits, high costs, and red tape. By simplifying access and addressing common health concerns, it offers a practical way for businesses of all sizes to provide meaningful support. The potential to reverse the growing impact of workforce sickness is considerable. Yet, many opportunities are being missed to make it easier for employers to take effective action. “Employers have told us that several barriers hinder the wider adoption of workplace health support,” says Schreier. “A major concern is that employees won’t use the benefits offered (59%), alongside cost worries - with 72% expressing a desire to provide more health benefits but believing they are too expensive. Additionally, over half of the HR professional we spoke to (54%) find some health benefits difficult to understand.” Schreier adds that employees are most likely to use health benefits when they are simple to access (37%), followed closely by quick availability (36%), and coverage for pre-existing conditions (22%). “Investing in workforce health and wellbeing, particularly mental health, is not only the right thing to do, but also delivers a strong financial return. On average, for every £1 spent supporting mental health and wellbeing, employers receive £4.70 back through increased productivity1.”
A gap in workplace support
What employers can do
Removing barriers with affordable solutions
Since 2020, an estimated 375m workdays have been lost, with a record 2.8m people now out of work due to long-term sickness
“The impact of mental ill health isn’t isolated to just lost days. Mental ill health in the workplace can impact productivity due to presenteeism and lower employee engagement, and it can drive higher turnover rates. Supporting mental health proactively is essential for maintaining a healthy, motivated, and productive workforce.” Recognising and talking through workplace pressures early is one of the best ways to prevent problems escalating to the point where someone needs extended time off. Simple steps like encouraging regular check-ins, promoting proper lunch breaks away from desks, or making sure staff know about available support services can all help to protect mental wellbeing. But are businesses doing enough to support their employees?
Supporting mental health proactively is essential for maintaining a healthy, motivated, and productive workforce
Building healthier workplaces
The mental health crisis in the UK workforce is a complex issue, but by embedding affordable, accessible mental health support, employers can foster resilience, improve retention, and help relieve pressure on the NHS.
1 Source: Deloitte.com: Mental health and employers - The case for employers to invest in supporting working parents and a mentally health workplace
A new review into the UK’s long-term sickness crisis could reshape employer demand for health, protection and wellbeing benefits creating opportunities for advisers guiding organisations on their workforce insurance and benefit schemes. According to the Keep Britain Working report by former John Lewis boss Sir Charlie Mayfield, more than one in five working-age adults are now out of work and not looking for work, and around 2.8m are economically inactive due to health issues – almost 40% higher than pre-pandemic levels. The result of this drag on productivity, growth and the public finances is estimated at around £150bn a year. Yet employers could be key to turning things around – by investing in workplace health. Paul Schreier, CEO of Simplyhealth, believes the fundings in the report findings underline the central role of employers and their advisers in ensuring better and more structured workplace health support for employees. “Long-term sickness and absence from work have a profound impact on individuals, businesses and the wider economy,” he says. “Reversing this trend requires a collective effort across government, healthcare and business.” For advisers, the review represents a significant signal that the government expects employers to take a more proactive role in health and wellbeing – and may be the way to reshape the health benefits and incentives landscape overall.
A core theme of the review includes the way tax rules shape employer investment in the health of their workforce. Schreier explains that disincentives, such as tax – which has increased significantly in the last ten years – has created a challenging barrier for employers and employees alike. To combat the challenges however, the review suggests reforms, such as: Revisiting the tax treatment of health benefits to ensure disincentives are removed Targeted sick pay rebates for employers using evidence-based return-to-work practices Aligning National Insurance and public procurement frameworks with employers’ record on keeping people in work For the protection and health insurance market, these proposals could drive increased employer demand - particularly if reforms reduce the cost burden and reward proactive management of sickness absence. Schreier welcomes the commitment to use employer insight to enable “fair and targeted incentivisation in the future, removing complications and increasing investment in health.”
Perhaps the most important recommendation for advisers is the call to rethink what workplace health really includes or looks like in practice. The proposed Workplace Health Provision model outlined in the Keep Britain Working review envisages non-clinical case management drawing on a mix of services at different price points, rather than relying solely on traditional occupational health or comprehensive private medical insurance. “We particularly welcome the call to expand workplace health provision and to broaden its definition to include a wider range of schemes,” says Schreier. “This recognition is important given the variation in what employers currently offer, especially among smaller businesses, which often struggle to match the healthcare benefits of larger organisations.” For larger employers, a wider definition means making better use of the mix of services they already buy. For smaller organisations, it is more fundamental and draws on an ecosystem of services at varying price points – for example, by bringing health cash plans, digital mental health tools, physiotherapy and targeted prevention programmes into the mainstream of workplace health to allow for a flexible, layered solutions that can be matched to different budgets and workforce profiles.
Another significant recommendation of the report is the proposal to explore risk-pooled funding models for SMEs. This would enable a collective scale of incentives that employees are automatically aligned to. Schreier says such a model has “the potential to transform access to workplace healthcare, allowing smaller employers to work together to procure provision and significantly expanding access to in-work health support.” With the Keep Britain Working report, Sir Charlie Mayfield has challenged the market to develop pooled approaches that make health and wellbeing support more affordable for smaller firms, drawing parallels with auto-enrolment pensions, which used scale to bring more people into provision. For many micro and small employers that want to support health at work but cannot justify or sustain standalone schemes, sharing risk and administration across many employers could lower costs and give employees access to meaningful support that would otherwise be out of reach.
Rethinking workplace health
Risk pooling for SMEs
Disincentives, such as tax – which has increased significantly in the last ten years – create a challenging barrier for employers and employees alike
Smaller businesses, which often struggle to match the healthcare benefits of larger organisations
Putting the recommendations to the test
The report now moves into a three-year vanguard phase, testing its recommendations with willing employers and providers. Pilots will focus on Workplace Health Provision, the Healthy Working Lifecycle standard and associated incentive frameworks, supported by a new Workplace Health Intelligence Unit to track outcomes and refine what works in practice. Simplyhealth has already expressed interest in taking part in this phase, helping to demonstrate how better workplace health provision can reduce absence and boost productivity. “The challenge is significant, but together can we address the long-term sickness epidemic, helping more people to stay in or return to work and building a healthier, more productive Britain,” says Schreier.
During this year’s Labour Party Conference, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a significant expansion of digital NHS services as part of the government’s 10 Year Health Plan to improve access to NHS and tackle rising long-term illness. For advisers, this digital first strategy could be the push to redefining employer expectations around workplace health, with a panel of experts at a Simplyhealth fringe event agreeing that the NHS’ digital shift must be mirrored by workplace initiatives to deliver impact.
Workforce participation has become one of the government’s key growth challenges, and the drive to digitalise healthcare is part of a wider issue on economic inactivity and long-term sickness, with a hope that the modernising of NHS services will reduce delays and widen access to services. Yet wide inequalities in healthcare access remain, with lower-paid, rural and ethnic minorities more likely to face worse access to healthcare. Thus, there is an urgent need for employers and workplace benefits providers to bridge the gap. “Digitalising health support is pivotal to improving access and meeting needs,” explains Simplyhealth CEO Paul Schreier. “Businesses like ours have been doing this for some time and we encourage the government to listen to our learnings and transformation journeys.”
While NHS modernisation is welcomed, many of the conditions contributing to long-term absence, such as mental ill health, musculoskeletal issues and chronic stress, first emerge in the workplace. This highlights the importance of employers and those advising them in prevention and intervention strategies. “Tackling these issues earlier in the workplace would not only reduce pressure on health services but also strengthen the economy,” says Schreier. Speaking at Simplyhealth’s Workplace Health, National Wealth: Prioritising Prevention for a Healthier Economy event, Lewis Atkinson MP emphasised the need for better alignment: “The Government’s 10 Year Health Plan recognises the need for NHS services to better fit around people’s lives including their jobs, and the need to shift focus from treatment to prevention,” he said. “Employers have a key role in enabling this – promoting good health in the workplace and adopting a supportive approach to help employees manage conditions while they stay at work.” Speaking at the same event, Richard Sloggett, CEO of Future Health, agreed: “Prevention has to move from merely being an aspiration and turned into a reality, and businesses have a central role to play.”
Digital prevention
From national health policy to the factory floor
Digitalising health support, where possible, is pivotal to improving access and meeting needs
Prohibitive taxes on workplace health services have held back provision, particularly for small businesses that cannot absorb additional cost
The panellists concluded that the real challenge now lies in how their respective sectors take these commitments forward – turning national policy ambitions into practical, accessible support for employees. As the government sets out its digital ambitions for the NHS and looks to address long-term sickness, the private sector’s role is to complement public provision with accessible, practical support that keeps people healthy and in work. Digital workplace schemes can also help employees make better use of the expanded NHS offer by signposting them to virtual consultations, self-management tools and follow-up support that fits around work. If government reforms and workplace health schemes are aligned rather than siloed, the UK will be better placed to reduce economic inactivity, support its workforce and ease pressure on the NHS. As Schreier puts it: “By working together, government and business can put prevention at the centre of the plan for the NHS – supporting healthier lives and creating a stronger economy.”
