We鈥檝e welcomed the Keep Britain Working report鈥檚 focus on prevention, early intervention and employer responsibility to address rising rates of sickness absence and health-related economic inactivity.

Counselling and psychotherapy must be integral to any national response and not a peripheral add-on.

, led by former John Lewis boss Sir Charlie Mayfield, sets out a series of recommendations to address increases in people not working due to ill health.

One in five working-age adults in the UK are now outside the labour force. The main reason for this is ill-health.

Kris Ambler, our Workforce Lead, said: 鈥淭he Keep Britain Working report is important and timely. We鈥檙e pleased to see the strong focus on prevention, early intervention and employer responsibility.

鈥淚t鈥檚 right to call for systemic action. But we must move beyond treating mental health as a productivity problem.

鈥淐ounselling and psychotherapy must be embedded at the heart of any solution, not treated as an afterthought. Therapy is essential to supporting people so they can work, helping recovery, and building psychologically safe workplaces.鈥�

What the report鈥檚 calls mean for counselling and psychotherapy

The report鈥檚 calls represent opportunities for our members working in workplace settings 鈥� whether through EAPs, occupational health, internal employer provision or community-based services.

It emphasises early intervention and prevention.

It highlights the role of employers in creating healthy work environments and supporting people to stay in work or return to work.

Kris added: 鈥淭he report reinforces what our profession knows well: timely, relational therapeutic support is essential in maintaining workforce participation and psychological wellbeing.

鈥淔or counselling and psychotherapy professionals working in workplace settings, this is a moment of potential: a moment to step in, step up and claim our place in the evolving ecosystem of workplace health.鈥�

Where we welcome the report

We鈥檙e encouraged by the clear focus on employer responsibility. The shift from seeing wellbeing as purely an individual or welfare state issue, to a shared responsibility between employers, employees and the health system, is a fundamental and necessary re-setting of the agenda.

We echo the calls for better pathways to return to work and for strengthening in-work support for those with health conditions 鈥� visible signals that staying in and returning to work matter as much as job entry.

We recognise the importance of the emphasis on better data, outcome measures and early-stage intervention. Our profession鈥檚 evidence base stands to gain from this and we look forward to contributing.

Our concerns

There are several points that need careful attention, so workers鈥� mental health is not an after-thought in a largely productivity-driven agenda.

This includes ensuring that counselling and psychotherapy are integral parts of employer-led wellbeing strategies.

It鈥檚 vital that the nature of work, organisational culture, job quality, and how mental health is responded to in-work matter. The risk is that interventions focus on individual adjustment rather than systemic change.

The report calls must ensure better access to high-quality services 鈥� including for those in small employers, remote or rural locations, and for people with mental health and neurological conditions.

Incentives, support, and realistic frameworks will be needed for employers.

Mental health must be treated as a workplace priority, not just sickness absence measure.

What 麻豆原创 will do

We鈥檒l continue to advance discussions with policy makers, employers and partner organisations to ensure that counselling and psychotherapy services are better integrated within the workplace, leading to direct support for employees and increased access to life-changing counselling services.

This includes highlighting the importance of using qualified counsellors registered with a professional body, such as 麻豆原创.