Why are so many people off work sick? Labour told not to forget the pandemic ahead of benefit cuts

Many of us would like to forget the pandemic. We lost people we loved, spent months in our homes without social interaction, and faced a huge and sudden shift in our lives. But policymakers are being urged not to forget that we lived through a “generation-altering” pandemic, as Covid-19 has had an enormous long-term impact on the physical and mental health of the UK population.

The NHS was put under immense pressure and people are still facing long waiting times for treatment. Support services already cut to the bone by austerity measures were shut down. There are also two million people living with long-Covid, an illness which can have debilitating symptoms but about which scientists still know very little.

David Finch, assistant director of the healthy lives team at The Health Foundation, points out that the “health of working-age people in the UK was steadily declining throughout the 2010s, a trend that has been worsened by the pandemic and the cost of living crisis”.

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All of this has led to more people than ever out of work due to long-term sickness – around 2.8 million – and increasing numbers turning to disability benefits. Spending on disability and incapacity benefits for working-age people is up by £19bn in real terms since 2019-2020.

Helen Barnard, director of policy at charity Trussell, says the pandemic and its aftermath have contributed to rising numbers of people being unable to work due to ill health, particularly mental ill health. “This has been compounded by increased barriers to accessing healthcare, lengthening waiting lists for many treatments, and deepening hardship,” she said.

Mental health conditions reported by younger people have grown the fastest. The number of young people with a mental health conditions who are out of work due to long-term sickness is around 270,000, government figures suggest. This number has been rising consistently over the last decade and has risen by 60,000 in the last year alone.

Alexa Knight, director at the Mental Health Foundation, said younger people, households with lower incomes, people who are disabled or have long term conditions, and ethnic minority groups have been particularly impacted by the “lingering effects” of the pandemic.

“These groups have been affected by persistent unemployment, increased social isolation, higher baseline anxiety levels, and reduced access to mental health support services,” she said.

The Labour government wants to get people with health conditions back to work and has pledged to deliver the “biggest employment reforms in a generation”. These measures – including an overhaul of Jobcentres, a youth guarantee to ensure young people are working or earning, and intensive and personalised support for disabled people – have been broadly welcomed by charities.

But at the same time, ministers are threatening to slash disability benefits, with Keir Starmer saying the “bulging benefits bill” is a “blight on our society”.

Labour has said there is a shortfall in public finances left behind by the Conservatives worth tens of billions of pounds, stressing that government departments must make savings. With spending on disability benefits set to rise by £13bn by 2029-2030, these have become a target for cuts.

However, experts have warned that slashing financial support will deepen poverty in the UK and put more pressure on services like the NHS, social care, councils and housing support – and consequently “probably fail to achieve the savings that they’re hoping”.

There are currently five million people who are disabled or living with a disabled person facing hunger and hardship in the UK, with 75% of people referred to a Trussell food bank in one of these households.

“Any moves to simply cut their incomes even further would harm individuals, increase pressure on public services and hold back economic growth,” Barnard says.

The government has also faced repeated warnings that cuts are unlikely to push people into work – leading to reduced trust between benefits recipients and the system, which means they are less likely to engage with employment support.

Ayla Ozmen, director of policy and campaigns at anti-poverty charity Z2K, says: “Despite evidence suggesting that deteriorating health has contributed at least in part to the rise in the number of people receiving disability benefits, the government has indicated it wants to proceed with restricting eligibility for this vital support.

“This would plunge seriously ill and disabled people into deep poverty, while doing virtually nothing to help people into employment. The government needs to resist the urge to find rushed, short-term savings and instead invest in meaningful long-term reform.”

Cuts are likely to see people’s mental and physical health worsen, pushing them further away from the workplace. One woman previously spoke to the Big Issue about how she had a second stroke and lost three stone after her personal independence payment (PIP) was taken away.

PIP is paid to people with long-term health conditions to help cover additional costs if they have care needs or require support with daily activities. It is not an out of work benefit – you can get PIP if you are working or have savings – and the most people can receive is £184.30 a week.

Beyond this, experts have said that employment support must go further to support disabled people into work. Health Foundation analysis shows that each year around 300,000 people have left the workforce with a long-term health condition.

“The longer they remain out of work, the harder it becomes for them to return. Inadequate statutory sick pay and structural issues within the benefits system often push people towards long-term unemployment,” Finch says.

“The government should prioritise keeping people in work and preventing them from getting ill in the first place. This means working with employers to provide early, proactive and practical support during periods of sickness absence to help individuals stay in employment.”

Currently, 1% of people out of the workforce for health reasons find a job within six months, even though 20% of people want one, according to the Learning and Work Institute. The pandemic led to greater flexibility in the workplace, but many disabled people still face significant barriers to employment.

“Many disabled people would like to work but have not had the right support, and too many jobs are inaccessible for both disabled people and carers. The government’s planned health and disability reforms must focus on providing tailored, specialist support, working with employers to open up more good quality, accessible jobs, and ensuring financial security for disabled people,” Barnard says.

The Conservative government had proposed to reform the work capability assessment and restrict the eligibility criteria for the limited capability for work and work-related activity elements of universal credit, which could have seen hundreds of thousands of people miss out on support over the next few years.

Reeves confirmed in her Autumn Statement that Labour will “deliver on these savings”, estimated to be £3bn, but ministers have also said they will take their own approach to disability benefit reform. It is currently unclear what that will look like.

A DWP spokesperson told the Big Issue they will not comment on the “speculation” around cuts, but added: “Millions of people have been trapped out of work which is why we’re bringing forward reforms to health and disability benefits in the spring, so sick and disabled people are genuinely supported back into work, while being fairer on the taxpayer.”

People with health conditions are urging the government to invest in the NHS and other support services – saying that they need treatment before they can get back into work. Big Issue has spoken to people with long-Covid who have been forced out of work because of debilitating symptoms.

Darren Parkinson, a former town councillor who has long-Covid, was dismissed from work on health grounds. “They always talk of helping people with Jobcentres, trying to get people back into working. There’s a place for that, absolutely. But they have to recognise that there are people who are just too ill to work and need support from the state, and sadly, I’m one of those,” he says.

Charities are calling for wider investment in health services – warning the government not to forget the impact that the pandemic has had on the nation’s physical and mental health. They urge ministers to take a compassionate approach, rather than a punitive one, which addresses the root causes of long-term sickness in the UK.

Knight, director at the Mental Health Foundation, added: “Frankly, there’s been little in the way of convincing action from the UK government on tackling the long-standing mental health impacts of Covid-19 on the most vulnerable groups.

“While the new government is beginning to turn its attention to younger people whose mental health has caused them to have fallen out of the workforce, we’re still waiting to see the kind of comprehensive response that is needed after a generation-altering pandemic.

“That’s why we’re calling for a cross-government plan to address the causes of poor mental health. There’s still much to be done to rebuild a healthy society in the wake of the pandemic.”

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