Google, Siemens, and Transport for London are leading a quiet revolution on how the UK handles sick days
The UK is in the grip of a health-driven workforce crisis that’s costing the economy £212 billion a year.
Government data shows that more than one in five working-age adults is now economically inactive, largely because of long-term illness. There are 2.8 million people out of work for health reasons, 800,000 more than in 2019, and another 600,000 are projected to join them by 2030 without urgent action.
But a government-backed programme launched just months ago is already moving fast to change that, and three major employers are writing the new rulebook on sick leave.
Google, Siemens, and Transport for London are spearheading the first wave of practical reforms under the Keep Britain Working (KBW) initiative, according to a March 2026 progress report seen by HotMinute.
The goal is to ditch the outdated “fit note” system that marks 93% of cases “not fit for work” and replace it with collaborative stay-in-work and return-to-work plans that keep people employed.
The changes are being hammered out right now in intensive eight-week “sprints” that kicked off immediately after the original review in November 2025.
- Transport for London is leading the sprint on prevention – defining what good early intervention actually looks like before health issues force people out.
- Siemens is heading up stay-in-work plans – working out the exact principles and tools employers need to support staff the moment problems arise.
- Google is driving return-to-work plans – codifying fast, effective ways to get people back into roles without losing them to the benefits system.
A parallel sprint with the Business Disability Forum is focusing on reasonable adjustments and better inclusion metrics for disabled employees.
The first cycle of sprints finishes this month, with wider consultation in May. The aim is to deliver a draft “Healthy Working Lifecycle” standard for UK employers by the end of 2026.
More than 150 organisations have already signed up, employing 1.5 million people across 24 sectors. Participants range from BT, Jaguar Land Rover, and Tesco to NHS trusts, SMEs, and over 40 healthcare providers.
Ten English mayoral authorities are running parallel workshops with hundreds of local small businesses this month, while Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are holding their own employer sessions to make sure the reforms work across the whole UK.
A clear business case
Employers lose £120 per sick employee every single day and face recruitment bills of more than £11,000 per replacement. Sickness absence now costs the private sector £85 billion annually.
The new programme means health at work stops being something left to the individual and the NHS and becomes a shared responsibility. Employers lead with better practices; employees engage early; the system is rewired to support both.
By 2028 the ambition is to have a national standard, a functioning marketplace of workplace health support, and the data needed to “rewire incentives” at the next Spending Review, making it easier and more attractive for every employer to adopt the new model.
