The Chancellor’s Autumn Budget has prompted concern from across the employee benefits, disability inclusion and workforce health sectors, with experts warning that the measures announced fail to address the root causes of the UK’s long-term sickness crisis.
A missed opportunity to invest in prevention
While increased NHS funding featured prominently, some believe the government has defaulted to treating illness rather than preventing it.
David Williams, head of group risk at Towergate Employee Benefits, said the Budget should have prioritised support for employers who are struggling with rising absence rates and the wider impacts of poor workforce health.
“Wouldn’t it be great for the Government to focus on supporting those thousands of employers who are crying out for help in tackling workforce sickness”, he said. “All those businesses who are struggling with high absence rates, who need help implementing effective health, wellbeing and employee benefit strategies, all with the ultimate aim of improving their business productivity”.
“Thousands of employers are crying out for help,” he added. “By incentivising initiatives that promote healthy workplaces, providing high-quality preventative care, and offering robust rehabilitation support, we can reduce the number of working-age people relying on the NHS unnecessarily”.
Williams also suggests that “This is not about spending less on health, it’s about spending smarter. The NHS is always the obvious, go-to response for health issues, but improving prevention and early intervention in the workplace will ease pressure on the NHS, boost productivity, and create a healthier, more resilient workforce”.
Policy decisions at odds with ‘Keep Britain Working’ ambitions
This sentiment was echoed by GRiD spokesperson Katharine Moxham, who said the Budget “misses a vital opportunity” to improve workforce health in line with the government’s own Keep Britain Working Review.
She warned that changes to salary sacrifice for pensions and the continued double taxation on group income protection risk undermining benefits that help employees stay healthy, financially secure and in work.
Disabled people should be central to growth, not cuts
Diane Lightfoot, CEO of Business Disability Forum, emphasised that welfare reforms must not come at the expense of disabled people.
She welcomed steps to reduce unnecessary reassessments for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), but stressed the need for a positive, inclusive narrative.
“What we need to hear is that disabled people are a critical part of the growth strategy – as part of the solution rather than a target for cuts”, she said. “We also need to frontload the employment support that disabled people need to get in and stay in work before cutting benefits they rely on.”
A clear message for government
Taken together, the sector’s response highlights a consistent theme: the UK cannot reduce NHS demand, tackle long-term sickness or boost productivity without putting workforce health, prevention and inclusion at the heart of economic strategy.
Experts are calling for policies that empower employers to support healthier workplaces, protect essential benefits and recognise disabled people as key contributors to the country’s growth – not a cost to be managed.
You can download a copy of the full budget here.
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