Work and health: A composite election issue
The UK general election is less than one month away, and the US election is just around the corner. Where does work and health fit into election agendas?
Has work and health made it onto the agenda?
There has definitely been a spotlight on work and health in recent months. In the UK, this has been driven by the sheer amount of economic inactivity due to ill health, which continues to rise. It is difficult to ignore and has a bearing on government revenues and government spending.
Will work and health policy feature in manifestos?
Not explicitly. The relationship between work and health still does not get the airtime necessary to leverage aligned policy inputs and outputs. This said, implicitly, the work and health agenda is everywhere. From healthcare pledges to social security policy to pensions to income tax. All of these elements impact people’s ability to work, through sickness and through health. The framework for work and health in the UK will change, depending on who wins the general election.
Is this good enough?
It is difficult to predict the outcome of piecemeal changes as they appear across election campaigns. There is definitely the potential to achieve better outcomes on the work and health agenda. But opportunities are being missed across political parties to harness the power of the relationship between work and health as they set out what they would like to achieve if in government. Joined up policies that involve collaboration between different government departments as well as private sector stakeholders are the zenith when it comes to efficiency in work and health policy. While groundwork has been laid for this ahead of the election, there is a risk that a siloed approach will prevail.
Case in point: the fit note
The fit note is just one area where a loss of momentum is a risk to progress. As the gateway to longer term sickness absence in a landscape where access to quality occupational health support is inadequate, fit note reform could be really consequential. Policy Exchange’s Not Fit For Purpose report highlights where we’re at. The government’s call for evidence to inform plans to change the current infrastructure is open until 8 July 2024…four days after the general election.