HR File: What employers can do to help staff with long-term conditions

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The UK’s workforce is ageing. There are almost twice as many people aged between 50 and 69 years or more than there are aged 15 to 24 years, leading some to describe the situation as a demographic time-bomb. One major implication of an ageing workforce is that the number of people experiencing at least one long-term condition is expected to rise above 17 million in the coming decades, affecting people’s job situation and, more broadly, productivity and the national economy.

Worklessness and sickness absence related to ill-health already costs the UK more than £100bn each year, which is not sustainable. A recent report, which I co-wrote for Lancaster University’s Work Foundation, highlights how a number of long-term conditions can have a serious impact on the lives of working age people, and the wider economy, and how employers can improve support services for employees with long-term conditions so that they are able to remain in work.