DWP has warned of ‘vicious cycle’ of illness as record numbers of Britons quit work

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has revealed that more people claimed sick pay without unemployment in the first four months of this year than ever before. Employment experts have warned that whoever wins the general election will have to break the “vicious cycle” which is making increasing numbers of people too ill to work.

A record 250,000 new claims were made for Sickness and Disability Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in the first quarter of 2024, with 84% of claimants (210,000) approved for the benefit. Researchers at Lancaster University recently linked the rise in illness to the working conditions in which many ill or disabled Britons work.

Alice Martin, head of research at the university’s Work Foundation, suggested that this rise in illness may be linked to poor working conditions. She said: “The truth is our workforce is getting sick and yet not everyone has the time off they need to live a healthy life. The current low rate of sick pay is forcing some people to work when they are unwell to make ends meet,” it reports. Manchester Evening News.

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More than half of the 1.1 million British workers who do not earn enough to qualify for statutory sick pay are women, and a third are disabled. All this contributes to the massive increase in illness, which has caused almost 3 million people of working age to give up work because they are not feeling well.

Since 2021, there has been a sharp increase of almost fifty percent in PIP applications. Alice Martin went on to explain that poor working conditions “risk exacerbating existing health conditions and can lead to people leaving the labor market altogether.

“We currently have a record 2.83 million economically inactive people in the UK due to long-term health problems, and our previous research suggests that many of these people want to work but are unable to provide the necessary support to do so.”

Just a few months ago, amid early warning signs that PIP claims were on the rise, the DWP prepared to cut disability benefits hard. They had intended to consult on plans to turn the payment into an equipment voucher, however many disability campaigners criticized the plan – which has now been shelved for the general election.

What the research found

Research into employment statistics and practices across the economy by the Lancaster University team has revealed Victorian-like working conditions for many people on lower wages – with many forced to work longer hours to make ends meet while living with a disability or medical condition that is only aggravated by their working hours.

This is even played out in the statistics for how much time off work certain classes of society get each year to rest, recuperate and enjoy life outside of work. Further analysis showed that in 2022, employees with above-average earnings of £32,882 a year or more had on average two more days of annual leave than those on lower incomes.

Almost a third (32%) of above-average earners had an annual leave entitlement of more than 30 days. Whereas, the same allowance is only available to a quarter of those on low incomes (25.4%).

This can create a ‘vicious cycle’ as people with lower incomes and insecure work lives find themselves having to risk their health, with less time away from work for holidays and other forms of leave.

Alice Martin added: “Forecasts suggest that increasing numbers of workers will experience major illness year on year.

“It is imperative that the next government works with employers to create an effective plan to enable workers to have healthier working lives – otherwise the UK’s disease crisis is likely to worsen. This includes making sure people have time off to rest and recover.”

Among the recommendations in the report, the Work Foundation calls on the next Government to:

• Consolidation of legal leave policies through a comprehensive employment law in the first 100 days of mandate
• Reform statutory sick pay by:
• removing the lower earnings limit and allowing SSP to start on the first day of illness
• creating a roadmap for increasing SSP to 60% of regular pay or the equivalent of the Real Living Wage, proportional to the regular number of hours worked, whichever is greater
• providing a government rebate to support smaller employers who may find it difficult to meet the cost of sick pay
• ensuring sickness pay flexibility to support a gradual return to work
• Creation of a single labor rights enforcement body to enforce statutory rights to leave and pay
• Commission an independent review of statutory leave and pay to establish the fairness, flexibility and suitability of leave for the future labor market as the retirement age rises.