{"id":16214,"date":"2026-07-03T14:50:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T14:50:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=16214"},"modified":"2026-07-03T14:50:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T14:50:07","slug":"tackle-workplace-sickness-to-unlock-hidden-growth-former-john-lewis-boss-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=16214","title":{"rendered":"Tackle workplace sickness to unlock hidden growth, former John Lewis boss says"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 300px 160px; gap: 2px; width: 460px; background: #eee; padding: 2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u6574\u884c\u5bbd\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876674\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 90px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876676\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u5de6\u4fa7\u7ad6\u6392 -->\r\n  <div style=\"height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876672\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"height: 500px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876680\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u6469\u5929\u697c\uff08\u548c\u5de6\u4fa7\u5b8c\u5168\u5bf9\u9f50\uff09 -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row: 3\/5; height: 750px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876678\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  \r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e6\" data-zoneid=\"5876682\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b class=\"ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">Tackling unemployment linked to long-term illness will unlock economic growth that&#8217;s &#8220;hiding in plain sight&#8221;, former John Lewis chair Sir Charlie Mayfield has said.<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">More than 250 of the UK&#8217;s biggest employers, including British Airways, Tesco, Royal Mail, and several government departments, have signed up to his Get Britain Working taskforce.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">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 \u00a3212bn a year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Many big UK businesses, including Sainsbury&#8217;s, EDF Energy, and Currys, as well as 10 mayoral authorities, including London and Manchester, have agreed to take part.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Sir Charlie told the BBC: &#8220;I can&#8217;t tell you how many people I&#8217;ve met who said: &#8216;I was signed off work for three months, or six months, and I never had any contact with my employer at all.&#8217; <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;That&#8217;s not because the employer is a bad person. It&#8217;s because we&#8217;ve got a situation at the minute where people don&#8217;t talk to each other when they really need to.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Sir Charlie&#8217;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&#8217;s welfare bill to free up money elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Sir Charlie said his plans could help cut that bill.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;Fixing these problems at the fundamental level, could make a really big contribution to getting this economy working better \u2014 for employers, for employees, for the taxpayer, for all of us.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">He added: &#8220;This is not a zero-sum game. It&#8217;s not a question of employers win and employees lose and vice versa. Everybody can win.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Sir Charlie suggested Burnham would back his plans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;I can&#8217;t see any reason why he wouldn&#8217;t because of what Andy has said about good growth. If this isn&#8217;t good growth, I&#8217;m not sure what is, quite frankly.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;You wouldn&#8217;t have had to build a single house, open a new channel of immigration, you wouldn&#8217;t have to wait for a cohort of young people to join the workplace. This is basically growth hiding in plain sight.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \u603b\u5bb9\u5668\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u5bbd908px Grid\u7d27\u51d1\u5e03\u5c40 -->\r\n<div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 728px 160px; gap:2px; width:908px; background:#eee; padding:2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u901a\u680f\u9876\u90e8\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u6a2a\u5e45 908x258 \u8de8\u6574\u884c -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; height:258px; background:#ff6b6b; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114307\" data-width=\"908\" data-height=\"258\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114307});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u7b2c\u4e8c\u901a\u680f\uff1a728\u00d790 \u901a\u680f -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; 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height:600px;  display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114301\" data-width=\"160\" data-height=\"600\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114301});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/cq61j11r577o?at_medium=RSS&#038;at_campaign=rss\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tackling unemployment linked to long-term illness will unlock economic growth that&#8217;s &#8220;hiding in plain sight&#8221;,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1376,2594,1323,518,13696,7957,11255,3068,13695],"class_list":["post-16214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-boss","tag-growth","tag-hidden","tag-john","tag-lewis","tag-sickness","tag-tackle","tag-unlock","tag-workplace"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/847a2120-76c4-11f1-bd3f-0f791277aaa0.jpg",1200,675,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/847a2120-76c4-11f1-bd3f-0f791277aaa0-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/847a2120-76c4-11f1-bd3f-0f791277aaa0-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/847a2120-76c4-11f1-bd3f-0f791277aaa0-768x432.jpg",640,360,true],"large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/847a2120-76c4-11f1-bd3f-0f791277aaa0-1024x576.jpg",640,360,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/847a2120-76c4-11f1-bd3f-0f791277aaa0.jpg",1200,675,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/847a2120-76c4-11f1-bd3f-0f791277aaa0.jpg",1200,675,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/847a2120-76c4-11f1-bd3f-0f791277aaa0-1115x675.jpg",1115,675,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/847a2120-76c4-11f1-bd3f-0f791277aaa0-800x500.jpg",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/847a2120-76c4-11f1-bd3f-0f791277aaa0-1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/847a2120-76c4-11f1-bd3f-0f791277aaa0-540x340.jpg",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/847a2120-76c4-11f1-bd3f-0f791277aaa0-400x250.jpg",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?cat=2\" rel=\"category\">Business<\/a>","tag_info":"Business","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}