Drive to tackle workplace sickness

Thousands of people at risk of dropping out of work will be given more support to stay in their jobs thanks to new Government-funded occupational health training for 5,000 line managers working in small businesses.

The free training funded by the Department for Work and Pensions comes as part of the Government’s drive to tackle workplace sickness and will be made available to small and medium sized businesses across England, helping them to better support staff and identify health-related issues early.

It will help tackle the inherited issue of more than 2.8 million people signed off long-term sick – one of the highest rates in the G7 – while the Keep Britain Working Review found 800,000 more working-age adults are out of work due to sickness than in 2019.

The cost of ill-health to small businesses is stark, as replacing an employee lost to ill-health costs over £11,000, while every sickness absence day costs businesses around £120 in lost profit.

The free training – led by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) – will give line managers the practical skills they need to recognise early signs that someone they’re managing needs help, so they can have supportive conversations about health and workplace adjustments. Persistent fatigue, behaviour changes, and increased absence will be some of the signs managers will be trained to spot and step in early to support people, so they have better ways forward to continue in work.

Minister for Employment Dame Diana Johnson said:

Too often, small businesses lose skilled staff to health issues without the tools to support them – and that doesn’t help anyone.

This free training changes that. It gives line managers the confidence to have the right conversations and make the adjustments that could help keep people in work.

When small businesses support their staff to stay at work healthy, everyone wins – employees, businesses, and our economy.

Currently, only 21% of SMEs provide training for line managers on ways to improve employees’ health and wellbeing, compared to 76 percent of large employers. While smaller businesses often have less capacity to offer this kind of training, with tighter budgets and fewer dedicated HR resources, the evidence is encouraging: among SMEs that have been able to provide such training, 79 percent report it is effective in preventing employee ill health.

Tina McKenzie, Policy Chair at the Federation of Small Businesses, said:

We are pleased to see DWP devoting funds to upskilling SMEs on occupational health issues for their staff. Employee welfare is a priority for small firms, but we know that training courses about it can be put out of reach at a time of rising cost pressures.

We welcome that around 5,000 SMEs should be better placed to look after the health of their employees, avoid sickness absence, and help them thrive in the workplace.

Between January and March 2026, DWP will fund up to £800,000 worth of IOSH Managing Occupational Health and Wellbeing training for line managers in SMEs which will:

• Enhance understanding of occupational health services and referral processes.
• Build confidence in supporting employees with physical and mental health conditions.
• Promote early intervention and better support under the Equality Act 2010.
• Have effective conversations about workplace adjustments and reasonable support.

David Tomlinson, Health and Safety Business Partner at University of Lincoln, who has completed the course said:

I really enjoyed this course. It provided valuable insight into what can be a challenging issue for us as an employer. And it’s given us greater confidence to help us shape our approach to occupational health and wellbeing at work.

This funding bolsters the Government’s flagship Small Business Plan which was launched alongside the Business Growth Service earlier this year. It also follows a range of measures introduced to deliver for small business including:

• Raising the rate when small businesses start to pay national insurance.
• Putting more money in customers’ pockets by taking £150 off energy bills, and freezing rail fares and prescription charges.
• Making training for under-25 apprenticeships free for small businesses.
• Tackling late payments with the strongest reforms in 25 years, going further than any previous government.
• Slashing electricity prices for thousands of manufacturing businesses.

Additional information

• Managers can sign up for the free training on the campaign website, which will go live imminently. The site will be open for pre-registration until 31 December and registration from 2 January 2026.
• Reed Learning are working with International Workplace to deliver the training between January and March 2026 across England thanks to funding of up to £800,000 provided by the Department for Work and Pensions. Programme is voluntary – businesses choosing to participate based on business value.
• Aligns with Keep Britain Working review recommendations on early intervention: Employers join forces with government to tackle ill-health and keep Britain working – GOV.UK
• For more information on the Government’s support for small business: Government urges the nation to back Britain’s small firms this Small Business Saturday – GOV.UK

source: GOV