Keeping Britain Working: Turning Insight Into Action

Sir Charlie Mayfield’s Keep Britain Working report lands at a crucial moment for the UK. We are living through a quiet crisis, one not defined by headlines, but by absence: people who want to contribute, employers who want to support them, and a system that too often fails both.

More than one in five working-age people in the UK are now out of the workforce, largely due to health challenges. If this trend goes unchecked, the cost, economically and socially, will be staggering. But as this review rightly makes clear, decline is not destiny. With coordinated action across employers, government and health systems, we can reverse this trajectory and build a healthier, fairer and more productive Britain.

The report sets out a compelling blueprint, rooted in realism and collaboration. And at Lime, we wholeheartedly support its call to rehumanise workplaces, prioritise prevention, and rebuild the connection between work and health. We are fellow travellers on this journey, determined to help keep Britain working by keeping Britain well.

The Case for Change Is Overwhelming

The data speaks clearly. The cost of health-related economic inactivity, to individuals, employers and the state, is unsustainable. But this is not simply an economic concern; it is a human one.

Good work is a foundation of dignity, purpose, and wellbeing. And when people fall out of work due to poor health, the consequences accumulate quickly: financial insecurity, declining health, and reduced opportunity. As the report highlights, the longer someone is away, the harder the return becomes. This is a system-level failure we simply cannot afford to ignore.

A Shared Responsibility

The review gets something profoundly right: workplace health can no longer be the sole responsibility of individuals or the NHS. Employers must lead, employees must engage, and government must enable.

This is not about shifting burden, it is about aligning incentives. Employers already carry the cost of poor workplace health in lost productivity, recruitment challenges, and cultural strain. They are ready to act, and they need the infrastructure, clarity and confidence to do so.

The proposed Healthy Working Lifecycle, Workplace Health Provision, and a Workplace Health Intelligence Unit give the UK a model that matches leading countries. Crucially, it recognises that prevention and early support are not “nice to haves” they are the levers that change outcomes at scale.

Momentum Meets Mission

Government has been clear about its commitment to growth, productivity, and revitalising the workforce. This report provides a route to deliver on that mission.

A healthier working-age population means higher productivity, lower welfare reliance, and less pressure on the NHS. But it also means something bigger: a society where potential is protected and opportunity is shared.

The recommendation for a vanguard approach, testing, refining, and scaling, is pragmatic and achievable. Now, the opportunity is to move at pace. The prize is too great to hesitate.

Where Lime Stands

At Lime, our mission has always been to make quality health support accessible for every worker, not just those at the top of the organisation. For over a decade, we’ve worked to deliver whole-of-workforce health solutions that bridge prevention, early intervention and primary care access.

We are proud to stand alongside Sir Charlie Mayfield and the many employers, advisers and clinicians championing this movement.

Our experience mirrors the report’s findings:

• Employers want to support their teams, but need clarity and confidence

• Prevention is the most powerful lever in health, yet the least systemically supported

• Affordable, mobile-first and data-enabled health access is essential to reach the entire workforce

• And change sticks when it improves outcomes and saves costs, for business and for the state

We see this moment as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernise the way health and work interact in the UK. Not by shifting healthcare into the workplace, but by embedding wellbeing, access, and prevention into how we think about employment and productivity.

A Call to Government

This review deserves more than a polite reception; it deserves active government backing and rapid deployment. It aligns perfectly with the UK’s declared growth mission and long-term health strategy. With the right support, this can be a defining reform of our time, one that improves lives, strengthens business, and rebuilds national resilience.

The UK has led global conversations on workforce wellbeing before. We can do so again, but only if we move from analysis to action.

From Report to Reality

We applaud Sir Charlie Mayfield and the teams behind this report. The framework is here. The evidence is here. The willingness from employers and innovators is here.

Now the task is delivery. And at Lime, we stand ready to contribute, collaborate and support this mission in practice, helping ensure every employer, every employee, and every community benefits.

Because keeping Britain working starts with keeping people well.