'NEED TO CHANGE SICK-NOTE CULTURE': RISHI SUNAK LOOKS TO TIGHTEN RULES TO REVERSE RISE IN BRITONS LEAVING WORKFORCE

NEW DELHI: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is considering tightening the rules around long-term sick leave to address the growing number of Britons permanently leaving the workforce.

The participation of working-age Britons in the labor force has hit its lowest level since 2015, primarily due to an increase in long-term illness and a higher number of students compared to other large, wealthy nations which have seen rising participation since 2020.

"We need to be more ambitious about helping people back to work and more honest about the risk of over-medicalising the everyday challenges and worries of life," said Sunak in a speech in London, seeking to appeal to core Conservative voters and arguing that a 'sicknote culture' around mental health needed to be reined in.

Official data reveals that 9.4 million Britons aged 16 to 64, representing 22% of this age group, are neither employed nor actively seeking employment, a notable increase from pre-pandemic levels. Among them, 2.8 million are on long-term sick leave, while 206,000 are temporarily unwell.

A report from last year highlighted that a significant portion of individuals on long-term sick leave were awaiting medical treatment, with the prospect of reducing waiting times to pre-2015 levels potentially reintegrating 25,000 individuals into the workforce. Over 50% of long-term sick individuals cited issues like depression, anxiety, or nervousness, often alongside their primary health condition.

Sunak's office pointed out a tendency among healthcare professionals to issue prolonged sick notes instead of actively supporting individuals in returning to work, leading many to transition to long-term sickness benefits. "We don't just need to change the sick note, we need to change the sick note culture, so the default becomes what work you can do – not what you can't," he said.

Sunak proposed a potential shift in the assessment responsibility from general practitioners to healthcare workers tasked with providing objective evaluations of an individual's work capacity and the customized support needed for their reintegration.