Doctors will be encouraged to issue fewer sick notes to reverse rise in workers on long-term sick

Doctors will be encouraged to issue fewer sick notes and instead help employees carry on working in bid to reverse the rise in workers who stay home due to long-term ailments

  • Treasury weighing up new approach to tackle Britain’s long-term sickness crisis 
  • Doctors to be encouraged to recommend employees remain in labour market 

Doctors will be urged to issue fewer sick notes and instead help employees carry on working under plans being considered for next month’s Budget, it was reported last night.

The Treasury is said to be weighing up a new approach to reverse the rise in staff who are off work with long-term sickness.

Instead of allowing a sick person to stop working entirely, doctors would be encouraged to recommend ways they can still go to work so that they do not drop out of the labour market.

 The number of staff signed off work with long-term health problems leapt from 1.95million in 2019 to 2.32million in 2022, figures show.

A Government source told The Daily Telegraph: ‘The mental health benefits of work are well-established. We want to do all we can to encourage as many people as possible to stay in work with the relevant support in place.’

Instead of allowing a sick person to stop working entirely, doctors would be encouraged to recommend ways they can still go to work so that they do not drop out of the labour market

The number of people off work because of long-term sickness has increased by around half a million since early 2019, figures show

The number of people off work because of long-term sickness has increased by around half a million since early 2019, figures show

Meanwhile, a leading business chief has delivered a major blow to the Government by claiming that Labour is now winning the economic argument. 

Paul Drechsler, former head of the Confederation of British Industry, wrote in The Independent: ‘The Conservatives are not just losing the argument – Labour is winning it.’