Sir Charlie Mayfield, appointed by the government to lead the Keep Britain Working taskforce, recommends that people off sick from work maintain phone contact with their employer to help facilitate a return to the workplace. This approach aims to reduce long-term health-related economic inactivity, which costs Britain around £212 million annually. The report also calls for more comprehensive workplace support and a Workplace Health System to address health conditions and disabilities effectively. Mayfield emphasizes that improving communication is crucial not only for rehumanizing the workplace but also for preventing employees from permanently leaving the workforce due to prolonged absences.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-23,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Sir Charlie Mayfield, a government-appointed back-to-work expert and former John Lewis boss, has advised sick workers should phone their bosses instead of sending texts or emails. This recommendation is part of an effort to rehumanize workplace communication and address the 300,000 people who leave work annually due to health issues, costing Britain around £212 million a year in benefits and lost productivity. Mayfield's report emphasizes that calling fosters dialogue and helps prevent long-term absence; however, it does not mandate sick workers call while experiencing severe symptoms like flu or food poisoning. The goal is to establish supportive workplace practices alongside the NHS, aiming to reduce the 77% increase in young adults (aged 16-24) citing health issues impacting their work capability.
Written for “Sick Leave Phone Policy” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
- Published
People off sick from work should keep in phone contact with their boss, government-appointed back-to-work expert Sir Charlie Mayfield has said.
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Mayfield → publish → work
Getting bosses and workers to have a conversation, rather than simply exchanging emails and sicknotes, could help get people back into work, Sir Charlie, who is leading the Keep Britain Working taskforce, said.
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who → get → taskforce
His latest report said health-related economic inactivity was costing Britain around £212m a year in benefit payments and lost output.
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inactivity → say → payments
Talking on the phone was just "one piece of the jigsaw" he said on Wednesday.
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he → talk → Wednesday
The report calls for more workplace support, external for people with health conditions and disabilities and the establishment of a Workplace Health System alongside the NHS.
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report → call → NHS
But improving communication was also a way to "rehumanise" the workplace and help prevent people dropping out of work altogether, Sir Charlie said.
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Charlie → improve → work
The report does not suggest that someone struck down by flu needs to croak through their symptoms over the phone or that bosses need to provide down-the-line sickbed sympathy if an employee is off with food poisoning.
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employee → suggest → poisoning
It is more about longer term issues," Sir Charlie told the BBC's Today Programme.
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Charlie → tell → Programme
But he said Britain was doing a "poor job" of handling sickness in the workplace, leading to more people becoming disengaged and dropping out altogether.
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people → say → workplace
"I have met so many people who have said to me, 'You know, I was signed off sick and I was off sick for a month, two months, three months, and I had almost no contact with my employer'," Sir Charlie said.
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Charlie → meet → employer
Around 300,000 people leave work every year with a health condition, much of which is preventable, the report said.
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report → leave → which
Sir Charlie said employees sometimes feared talking about long-term health issues with their employer.
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employees → say → employer
"But the fear is also felt by employers as well because they're afraid of causing offence or creating a complaint or a grievance," he added.
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he → feel → complaint
Fear on both sides can create a distance and lack of understanding, he warned, with longer absences making it much more likely a worker will drop out of the labour force altogether.
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worker → create → force
"If you can keep more people in work, there's a massive opportunity for us to add billions to the economy and, frankly, to people's livelihoods," Sir Charlie said.
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Charlie → keep → livelihoods
"To get that, though, you need to have people talking to each other, and you've got to more actively manage sickness and ill health in the workplace.
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you → get → workplace
Employers need to do more, he said, and employees need to engage with it.
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employees → need → it
Other ways for bosses to support staff include ensuring access to treatments such as physiotherapy and talking therapies, he said.
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he → support → physiotherapy
The Aporia
