8.2 million working-age people report having a long-term health condition that limits their ability to work. 1.7 million say that work itself is making them ill or creating challenges. In addition to causing personal hardships, this decline in working-age health is causing concern among employers, politicians and policymakers.

With the benefits bill rising, government has set its sights on wide-ranging welfare reforms, including significant changes to health and disability benefits. Are these reforms likely to incentivise and support people back into work? And how can the system intervene earlier and support employers to provide people with the flexibility they need to stay in work in the first place?

To discuss, our Chief Executive Jennifer Dixon is joined by:

Jon Ashworth, Chief Executive of Labour Together and former shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and for Work and Pensions.
Sacha Romanovitch, Chair of the Commission for Healthier Working Lives, which is supported by the Health Foundation.

Show notes

Commission for Healthier Working Lives (2025). Action for healthier working lives.

UK government (2025). Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper.

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council (2024). Pathways to Work Commission.

Health Foundation (2025). Will short-term fixes undermine building a healthier workforce in the long run?

Financial Times (2025). How to keep sick people in employment.

Health Foundation (2025). Mental health trends among working-age people.

55: When work isn’t working: tackling the UK’s sickness problem – with Jon Ashworth and Sacha Romanovitch