BRITAIN’s worklessness crisis could be tackled for just £5 a month per worker, according to the ex-John Lewis boss.
Sir Charlie Mayfield, who is advising the Government on economic inactivity, said proper workplace health support would cost “in the region of five pounds per month per employee”.
He told The Sun the money would fund “stay in work” and “return to work” support – helping people recover while staying connected to their jobs instead of being signed off and lost.
Sir Charlie said: “We’re very confident that where employers put that kind of support in place, and they embrace the healthy working-life cycle, they get a very positive return.
“They have lower rates of absence, faster return to work rates and financial benefits which will more than outweigh the cost of the provision.”
Sir Charlie, who led the Keep Britain Working Review earlier this year, said he is now mobilising employers across the country to turn his findings into action and build evidence to push ministers to back it.
His report found one in five working-age adults is now out of the labour force – 800,000 more since 2019 – with ill health costing the economy 7 per cent of GDP, almost 70 per cent of all income tax receipts.
Sir Charlie is also advising a separate independent review into youth inactivity, led by former health secretary Dr Alan Milburn, which is examining why growing numbers of young people are failing to get into work.
Sir Charlie warned the review will have to confront the role of social media in fuelling a surge in mental health problems among young people.
Sir Charlie stressed he is “no clinician”, but argued social media appears to intensify pressures that have always existed, making it harder for young people to escape comparison, insecurity and competition with their peers.
He added: “If I was a parent now and I had a, let’s say, a 14-year old, I would be probably quite enthusiastic about the idea of having a social media ban.”
