Independent review
Completed
Keep Britain Working Review: Final report
Keep Britain Working is an independent review of the role of employers in tackling health based economic inactivity and promoting healthy and inclusive workplaces.
Government Response
Government response to Sir Charlie Mayfield's review, given as a written ministerial statement (HCWS1020) by the Work and Pensions Secretary jointly with the Business and Trade Secretary on 5 Nov 2025. Government agrees with the diagnosis and commits to a vanguard phase, a Mayfield-co-chaired vanguard taskforce, and a workplace health intelligence unit.
Recommendations
Recommendation 1
Launch a three-year scaling of the Vanguard - Create the pathway for employer-led solutions to develop a Healthy Working Standard and Workplace Health Provision by 2029 - a framework of evidence-based practices that deliver:
• Better retention of people with physical or mental health conditions, and those who are neurodivergent
• Longer, healthier working lives for older workers
• Stronger support for disabled people
• Better retention of people with physical or mental health conditions, and those who are neurodivergent
• Longer, healthier working lives for older workers
• Stronger support for disabled people
Recommendation 2
Establish the Workplace Health Intelligence Unit – Quickly stand up and provide initial funding for the unit as an independent ‘movement HQ’ to support vanguards, build the evidence base and drive innovation. By 2029, it will deliver:
• Outcome measures and data to underpin the Healthy Working Standard
• Development of sustainable Workplace Health Provision with innovation and accessibility at its core
• Recommendations to drive general adoption in the next Spending Review
• Outcome measures and data to underpin the Healthy Working Standard
• Development of sustainable Workplace Health Provision with innovation and accessibility at its core
• Recommendations to drive general adoption in the next Spending Review
Recommendation 3
Rewire the incentive system in time for the next Spending Review - The Secretaries of State for DWP, DBT and DHSC to act as joint sponsors, aligning levers across government to remove barriers and accelerate change, including:
• Employer incentives, grounded in evidence, to accelerate adoption
• Adjacent reforms - e.g. welfare, fit note, Access to Work, dispute resolution – that amplify impact
• NHS and occupational health partnerships, including regional and pooled-risk models, to make provision more affordable for SMEs
• Integration of workplace health into neighbourhood health strategies, making sustained employment a core health outcome
• Employer incentives, grounded in evidence, to accelerate adoption
• Adjacent reforms - e.g. welfare, fit note, Access to Work, dispute resolution – that amplify impact
• NHS and occupational health partnerships, including regional and pooled-risk models, to make provision more affordable for SMEs
• Integration of workplace health into neighbourhood health strategies, making sustained employment a core health outcome
No recommendations with this response.