-
[Your account](https://account.bbc.com/account?lang=en-GB&ptrt=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticles%2Fcq61j11r577o)
Tackle workplace sickness to unlock hidden growth, former John Lewis boss says
Image source, Getty Images
By Mitchell Labiak
Business reporter
- Published 3 hours ago
Tackling unemployment linked to long-term illness will unlock economic growth that's "hiding in plain sight", former John Lewis chair Sir Charlie Mayfield has said.
More than 250 of the UK's biggest employers, including British Airways, Tesco, Royal Mail, and several government departments, have signed up to his Get Britain Working taskforce.
The group aims to prevent people dropping out of work due to ill-health and encourage those signed off to come back, with official figures showing the issue costs the UK £212bn a year.
However, some employers have said previously that tax rises mean many firms cannot afford to invest, while others have warned against pushing ill people into work.
The companies signed up will track sickness absence, return-to-work outcomes, and disability participation, which the government said would make workplace health performance visible for the first time.
Many big UK businesses, including Sainsbury's, EDF Energy, and Currys, as well as 10 mayoral authorities, including London and Manchester, have agreed to take part.
Sir Charlie told the BBC: "I can't tell you how many people I've met who said: 'I was signed off work for three months, or six months, and I never had any contact with my employer at all.'
"That's not because the employer is a bad person. It's because we've got a situation at the minute where people don't talk to each other when they really need to."
Sir Charlie's comments come as pressure grows on Andy Burnham, who is widely expected to take over as prime minister later this month, to reduce the UK's welfare bill to free up money elsewhere.
According to government figures, total welfare spending in Great Britain is forecast to be 23.6% of the total amount the government spends in the 2025 to 2026 financial year.
Sir Charlie said his plans could help cut that bill.
"Fixing these problems at the fundamental level, could make a really big contribution to getting this economy working better — for employers, for employees, for the taxpayer, for all of us."
He added: "This is not a zero-sum game. It's not a question of employers win and employees lose and vice versa. Everybody can win."
Sir Charlie suggested Burnham would back his plans.
"I can't see any reason why he wouldn't because of what Andy has said about good growth. If this isn't good growth, I'm not sure what is, quite frankly."
He said getting people back into work who are currently not working due to ill-health would be a simple way of boosting the workforce.
"You wouldn't have had to build a single house, open a new channel of immigration, you wouldn't have to wait for a cohort of young people to join the workplace. This is basically growth hiding in plain sight."
Get in touch
Have you been affected by issues covered in this story?
Contact form
Related topics
What needs to change to get more people working?
* Published 5 November 2025
Britain sliding 'into economic crisis' over £85bn sickness bill, ex-John Lewis boss warns
* Published 5 November 2025
The video playlist
Watch our pick of standout clips from across the BBC
Previous Next
- 0:44 Was there goat meat and animal skin in your kebab? 00:00:44, play video Was there goat meat and animal skin in your kebab?
- 1:22'Not a lot of Gen Z trust the state pension system' 00:01:22, play video'Not a lot of Gen Z trust the state pension system'
- 1:17 Did Iran invent a story about a ship crash? 00:01:17, play video Did Iran invent a story about a ship crash?
- 0:46'Don't punish schools if kids stay up for England match' 00:00:46, play video'Don't punish schools if kids stay up for England match'
- 0:54'I helped make Vindaloo a smash hit' 00:00:54, play video'I helped make Vindaloo a smash hit'
- 0:59'I need to see her': New Yorkers on Taylor Swift's wedding. 00:00:59, play video'I need to see her': New Yorkers on Taylor Swift's wedding
- 0:24 Huge waterspout twirls over German lake. 00:00:24, play video Huge waterspout twirls over German lake
- 1:27 BBC reports from boat in the Strait of Hormuz. 00:01:27, play video BBC reports from boat in the Strait of Hormuz
- 1:19 First mayor to take maternity leave faces criticism in Japan. 00:01:19, play video First mayor to take maternity leave faces criticism in Japan
- 0:40 The detection dogs of Wimbledon. 00:00:40, play video The detection dogs of Wimbledon
- 1:08 Forced adoption victims 'joyful' at government apology. 00:01:08, play video Forced adoption victims 'joyful' at government apology
- 0:59 Boy dies of rabies after waking to a bat on his face. 00:00:59, play video Boy dies of rabies after waking to a bat on his face
- 1:24 Russian missiles hit Kyiv residential neighbourhoods. 00:01:24, play video Russian missiles hit Kyiv residential neighbourhoods
- 3:34 Confronting a convicted people smuggler seeking UK asylum. 00:03:34, play video Confronting a convicted people smuggler seeking UK asylum
- 0:37 Nara Smith shares two-year-old daughter has cancer. 00:00:37, play video Nara Smith shares two-year-old daughter has cancer
- 1:12 President Trump joked about 'fat foxes' during first call with Starmer. 00:01:12, play video President Trump joked about 'fat foxes' during first call with Starmer
- 0:56 Could the US heatwave hit Taylor Swift's wedding? 00:00:56, play video Could the US heatwave hit Taylor Swift's wedding?
Top stories
Police criticise timing of decision on pubs staying open for England match
* Published 30 minutes ago
On the Strait of Hormuz, BBC finds seized ships and shark fishermen as uneasy calm returns
* Published 14 hours ago
Ukrainian woman named by Interpol as main suspect in Monaco bomb attack
* Published 11 minutes ago
More to explore
- What will guests wear to Taylor Swift's wedding?
- Tuchel wants young England fans to stay up for 1am World Cup clash - but should they?
- Weekly quiz: Why did the princess climb the UK's three highest peaks?
- NHS to reward people who walk 30 minutes a day
- No-gift policy for Taylor Swift, but how much should you give at a wedding?
- I started selling clothes from my nana's house - now I'm turning over £10m
- A mayor in Japan announced her maternity leave - and got the whole country talking
- Teenager saves paraglider from drowning after crash
- Politics Essential: Get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox every weekday
Elsewhere on the BBC
- The man behind the Mexican wave
- Zendaya stars in this heated tennis love triangle
- New World Screwworm: Can the parasitic fly be stopped?
- Watch all episodes of the Canadian sitcom on BBC iPlayer now
Most read
- 1NHS to reward people who walk 30 minutes a day
- 2Police criticise timing of decision on pubs staying open for England match
- 3Ukrainian woman named by Interpol as main suspect in Monaco bomb attack
- 4Greek man found guilty of murdering Scottish woman in Crete
- 5'Less than 10% sheep': How millions may have unknowingly eaten goat, skin and fat kebabs
- 6Nasa launches mission to save falling space telescope
- 7I started selling clothes from my nana's house - now I'm turning over £10m
- 8Burnham says there is some room for movement on tax
- 9'Start work at 11' - but will other bosses be as flexible over England's 1am match?
- 10France records 2,025 excess deaths at peak of heatwave as Europe braces for more extreme weather
BBC News Services
Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.