5 recommendations UK employers can expect from the Charlie Mayfield Review

Rising sickness levels and long-term health conditions are driving more people out of the workforce in the UK. For employers, this is fast becoming a business-critical issue – and one the Charlie Mayfield Review is set to address head-on.

Commissioned by the UK Government and due to conclude in 2025, the review is focused on reducing long-term sickness absence and helping more people with health conditions stay in, or return to, work. It is expected to reshape how employers approach workplace health and wellbeing.

As Chair of the UK’s Policy Liaison Group (PLG) on Workplace Wellbeing, I’ve spent the past year working with parliamentarians, peers, and employers – including Benifex customers like Centrica and Lloyds Banking Group – to explore exactly these challenges. That work has closely aligned with the Mayfield Review’s aims, and early signals from Sir Charlie Mayfield suggest significant changes are on the horizon.

Based on those early signals and our own work with clients, here are five recommendations we expect to come out of the review.

1. Earlier, more proactive health support

Expect stronger expectations around line manager contact and early intervention when employees show signs of ill health.

One of the clearest signals from Mayfield’s early commentary is for employers to intervene earlier when employees show signs of health-related absence. The current “hands-off” approach – where line managers avoid contact for fear of legal risk – is being called out as outdated and counterproductive.

We expect the review to recommend more structured, compassionate engagement with employees who are struggling, backed by better line manager training and wellbeing support.

For HR and Reward leaders, this may mean rethinking how your benefits ecosystem supports early intervention. From virtual GP access to mental health triage, proactive benefits can do more than react – they can help prevent.

2. Joined-up occupational health models

Employers may be asked to fill the “missing middle” between employment law and general healthcare.

The UK currently lacks an integrated occupational health model. Unlike the Dutch system – where employers must support sick employees for up to two years – UK employers aren’t yet obligated to play that role.

That could change. We anticipate recommendations for more integrated occupational health support – either through in-house provision or third-party partnerships. Employers may be expected to bridge the gap between diagnosis and return to work.

This aligns with what we’re seeing in our own work with clients. For example, Benifex’s Wellbeing platform is already being used by organizations like Centrica to support employees before, during, and after periods of sickness, helping them stay connected to the organization and their own recovery journey.

3. Smarter return-to-work incentives

Retention and reintegration strategies may be linked to financial or policy incentives.

An employee who has been on long-term sick leave for more than six months has a 92% chance of never returning to work. That’s a statistic no business can ignore.

To counter this, the review is expected to recommend a package of incentives for employers who retain or reintegrate employees with health conditions. This could include tax breaks, grants, or recognition for inclusive employment practices.

Expect the government to begin linking these efforts to existing schemes. For HR leaders, that means tracking return-to-work data more closely and ensuring your benefits strategy actively supports phased returns and job redesign where needed.

4. Better case management and coordination

Employers may be encouraged to adopt joined-up case management strategies.

Too many employees fall through the cracks when they’re off sick. Fragmented systems, lack of coordinated care, and poor communication leave people feeling unsupported – and more likely to exit the workforce entirely.

We believe the Mayfield Review will call on employers to adopt more formal case management approaches, integrating HR, line managers, benefit providers, and occupational health services.

This is where platforms like Benifex can play a crucial role – offering a central touchpoint that connects employees to personalized health resources, signposts support, and allows employers to measure engagement and wellbeing outcomes over time.

5. A cultural shift in how disability and long-term illness is viewed

Disability and illness will be reframed as a talent opportunity, not a business risk.

Perhaps most significantly, we expect the review to challenge employers to reframe how they view long-term health conditions and disability – from seeing health-related absence as a managed cost to an opportunity to act.

We expect calls for:

• More inclusive recruitment practices
• Flexible job design and career pathways
• A stronger focus on disability pay gap reporting

The direction of travel is clear: employers will be expected to stop seeing sickness as a cost to manage and start seeing it as a signal to act. For reward and benefits professionals, that means embedding equity and inclusion into the very fabric of your benefits design – and measuring success not just by cost control, but by health outcomes and workforce participation.

What’s next for employers?

As the role of employers in workplace health expands, now’s the time to review your wellbeing strategy. If you’d like to explore how benefits technology can help you deliver more proactive, integrated support, we’d love to help. Get in touch with us.