Presenteeism costs the UK £110 billion per year. Will the latest budget improve the state of mental health in the UK?

It is estimated that mental health-related 'presenteeism' and staff turnover have an economic price tag of £110 billion per year. With the UK government recently revealing their latest national budget, will these figures improve soon and let Brits return to their lives with work and study sooner?

If you have been on LinkedIn over recent weeks, you may have noticed a range of opinions on the UK Government's recent budget and the impact that it will have on small businesses and the workforce. Mental health is a crucial focus for many HR professionals, with mixed feelings around the support pledged and whether it will improve people's chances of returning to work after long-term mental illness or psychological injury.

Before the official budget launch, it was revealed that the UK is the only G7 country with a higher level of economic inactivity than before the COVID pandemic. It has been reported that 2.8 million people with long-term illness or injury cannot work. Following this, the Chancellor announced that £240 million would be committed to local services that assist people to re-enter the workforce after a period of inactivity through the Get Britain Working initiative.

The government has publicly recognised that poor mental health is a significant driver of high inactivity rates, and the funding for Get Britain Working's local 'trailblazers' is to "streamline work, health, and skills support to disabled people and those who are long term sick." The full details of these trailblazers and what their work will involve are yet to be released. Still, the Get Britain Working White Paper is looking at establishing eight trailblazer hubs across England and Wales to assist people with employment skills, training and opportunities. The government's Connect to Work program was also allocated £115 million between 2025-26 to find roles to suit people with disabilities and their unique conditions.

Do we need better preventative measures?

As mental health issues account for around half of long-term illness in the UK, we could be in danger of chasing our tails if we do not look to preventative initiatives. A modest £26 million has been pledged for new mental health crisis centres to take pressure off NHS emergency services, but Dr Srah Hughes, CEO of Mind, has stated: "We can't wait for people to reach crisis point before we intervene." She also mentions that under the new Work Capability Assessment, people with mental health conditions may lose vital financial support and be pushed into poverty.

There are over 1 million people in the UK currently sitting on mental health waiting lists with very little or no indication of when they will receive treatment. Over one-third of these patients are still waiting on first contact from the NHS over a year after receiving a referral. The Centre for Mental Health has also stated that the government-commissioned Darzi Report highlighted that patients are also in harm's way due to the state of mental health facilities.

The verdict

Although mental health spending accounts for around 5% of the UK's GDP, the problems are beginning to spiral as waiting lists grow and facilities deteriorate. The initiatives that have received budget allocation lack finer detail on how they will improve mental health and get people back into work, but we will continue to watch this space.

The government has focused on crisis care, which is extremely important, but largely ignores preventative care, which gets one million people off waiting lists and back to their lives (and work or study) sooner.