Publication - Research and analysis

Economic inactivity in Scotland: supporting those with longer-term health conditions and disabilities to remain economically active

Published: 24 September 2024
From: Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Directorate: Population Health Directorate
Topic: Economy, Health and social care, Work and skills
ISBN: 9781836017950

This report examines the evidence on supporting those with longer-term conditions and disabilities to remain in work. Its focus is on the upstream prevention of economic inactivity to ensure the protective factors for health that good work provides.

Supporting documents

Footnotes

1 Economically inactive Rate:Total (16-64):ALL:% - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

2 Worker movements and economic inactivity in the UK - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

3 Scotland's Labour Market Trends, July 2024 (www.gov.scot) The ONS is currently redeveloping the Labour Force survey due to lower achieved response rates, limiting the extent of recent available data.

4 Weve-only-just-begun.pdf (resolutionfoundation.org)

5 Weve-only-just-begun.pdf (resolutionfoundation.org)

6 Where have all the workers gone? (parliament.uk); Is poor health driving a rise in economic inactivity?

7 Is poor health driving a rise in economic inactivity?

8 Access to Work: get support if you have a disability or health condition: What Access to Work is - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

9 Importance of ill health to the UK's labour market participation challenge | Joseph Rowntree Foundation (jrf.org.uk)

10 Thriving at Work: the Stevenson/Farmer review on mental health and employers (publishing.service.gov.uk)

11 Health-led Trials: Evaluation Synthesis Report (publishing.service.gov.uk)

12 deloitte-uk-mental-health-and-employers

13 Workplace mental health training for managers and its effect on sick leave in employees: a cluster randomised controlled trial - PubMed (nih.gov)

14 Reasons for workers aged over 50 years leaving employment since the start of the coronavirus pandemic - Office for National Statistics

15 Transport poverty: a public health issue (publichealthscotland.scot)

16 Economically inactive Rate:Total (16-64):ALL:% - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

17 Population changes and economic inactivity trends, UK: 2019 to 2026 - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

18 Worker movements and economic inactivity in the UK - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

19 LFS Quarterly Headline Indicators, via NOMIS (nomisweb.co.uk) The ONS is currently redeveloping the Labour Force survey due to lower achieved response rates, limiting the extent of recent available data.

20 Annual Population Survey, 12 months to December, via NOMIS (nomisweb.co.uk)

21 Healthy people, prosperous lives: The first interim report of the IPPR Commission on Health and Prosperity | IPPR

22 Weve-only-just-begun.pdf (resolutionfoundation.org)

23 Ibid.

24 The most recent statistics for Scotland are from the Scottish Health Survey 2021 and 34% of the population was classed at disabled: The Scottish Health Survey 2021 - volume 1: main report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot). In recent UK statistics (2021/22), 24% of the population as a whole was classed as disabled: UK disability statistics: Prevalence and life experiences - House of Commons Library (parliament.uk)

25Fair Society Healthy Lives full report (parliament.uk); Health, work and health related worklessness - a guide for local authorities; Health matters: health and work - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

26 Where have all the workers gone? (parliament.uk); Is poor health driving a rise in economic inactivity?

27 Is poor health driving a rise in economic inactivity?

28 The Great Big Workplace Adjustments Survey 2023 results (businessdisabilityforum.org.uk)

29 Sickness absence and health in the workplace: understanding employer behaviour and practice – an interim summary (publishing.service.gov.uk)

30 Thriving at Work: the Stevenson/Farmer review on mental health and employers (publishing.service.gov.uk); Workplace mental health training for managers and its effect on sick leave in employees: a cluster randomised controlled trial - PubMed (nih.gov)

31 The Great Big Workplace Adjustments Survey 2023 results (businessdisabilityforum.org.uk)

32 Health passports are documents created by employees only once, with details of their health condition, impact on their work, and support needs. They can then be shared with different managers and updated as necessary, so that the employee does not have to start from scratch in explaining their condition or requesting relevant support as either they move or a new manager starts.

33 The Great Big Workplace Adjustments Survey 2023 results (businessdisabilityforum.org.uk)

34 Francis R, Byford M and Wilson S. (2019) ‘Employment support for people with epilepsy: qualitative research to identify what good employment support for people with epilepsy should look like’. Institute for Employment Studies. Available: 523.pdf (employment-studies.co.uk)

35 Access to Work: factsheet for customers - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

36 Bevan S. (2018). ‘Improving Health and Employment Outcomes through Joint Working. Public Policy Institute for Wales’. Available: f06571_a5ff3c7afb3e43cca7c9989dd7132411.pdf (wixstatic.com)

37 Understanding-Early-Exiters-Demos.pdf

38 Scope (2023) ‘Disability in the workplace: how to retain disabled staff in employment’. Available at: Disabled employee retention | Disability charity Scope UK; How to respond to chronic health problems in the workplace? | European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (europa.eu)

39 Scope (2023) ‘Disability in the workplace: how to retain disabled staff in employment’. Available at: Disabled employee retention | Disability charity Scope UK

40 The Great Big Workplace Adjustments Survey 2023 results (businessdisabilityforum.org.uk)

41 The Great Big Workplace Adjustments Survey 2023 results (businessdisabilityforum.org.uk)

42 Scope (2023) ‘Disability in the workplace: how to retain disabled staff in employment’. Available at: Disabled employee retention | Disability charity Scope UK

43 The Great Big Workplace Adjustments Survey 2023 results (businessdisabilityforum.org.uk); Scope (2023) ‘Disability in the workplace: how to retain disabled staff in employment’. Available at: Disabled employee retention | Disability charity Scope UK

44 Scope (2023) ‘Disability in the workplace: how to retain disabled staff in employment’. Available at: Disabled employee retention | Disability charity Scope UK

45 Access to Work: get support if you have a disability or health condition: What Access to Work is - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

46 The Great Big Workplace Adjustments Survey 2023 results (businessdisabilityforum.org.uk); https://media.actionforchildren.org.uk/documents/Breaking_through_the_barriers_Oct

47 https://media.actionforchildren.org.uk/documents/Breaking_through_the_barriers_Oct

48 https://media.actionforchildren.org.uk/documents/Breaking_through_the_barriers_Oct

49 https://media.actionforchildren.org.uk/documents/Breaking_through_the_barriers_Oct

50 How to respond to chronic health problems in the workplace? | European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (europa.eu)

51 Scope (2022). ‘Attitudes and disability: The experiences of disabled people in 2022’. Available at: Attitudes research | Disability charity Scope UK

52 Scope (2023) ‘Disability in the workplace: how to retain disabled staff in employment’. Available at: Disabled employee retention | Disability charity Scope UK

53 Scope (2022). ‘Attitudes and disability: The experiences of disabled people in 2022’. Available at: Attitudes research | Disability charity Scope UK

54 Sickness absence and health in the workplace: understanding employer behaviour and practice – an interim summary (publishing.service.gov.uk)

55 Sickness absence and health in the workplace: understanding employer behaviour and practice – an interim summary (publishing.service.gov.uk)

56 Sickness absence and health in the workplace: understanding employer behaviour and practice – an interim summary (publishing.service.gov.uk)

57 The Great Big Workplace Adjustments Survey 2023 results (businessdisabilityforum.org.uk)

58 OM_Workforce_Crisis_2016_pdf.pdf (d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net)

59 Allied health professionals: A promising ally in the work against health inequalities- A rapid review - PMC (nih.gov)

60 Evaluation of In-Work Support: final (gov.wales)

61 Working Health Services Scotland: a 4-year evaluation | Occupational Medicine | Oxford Academic (oup.com)

62 Working Health Services Scotland: a 4-year evaluation | Occupational Medicine | Oxford Academic (oup.com)

63 Working Health Services Scotland: a 4-year evaluation | Occupational Medicine | Oxford Academic (oup.com)

64 Health & Work Support Pilot – Final Evaluation (www.gov.scot)

65 Employment support launched for over a million people - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

66 Employment support launched for over a million people - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

67 Employment support launched for over a million people - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

68 Health-led Trials: Evaluation Synthesis Report (publishing.service.gov.uk)

69 Economic analyses of supported employment programmes for people with mental health conditions: A systematic review | European Psychiatry | Cambridge Core

70 Scope (2023) ‘Disability in the workplace: how to retain disabled staff in employment’. Available at: Disabled employee retention | Disability charity Scope UK

71 Scope (2023) ‘Disability in the workplace: how to retain disabled staff in employment’. Available at: Disabled employee retention | Disability charity Scope UK; The work of return to work. Challenges of returning to work when you have chronic pain: a meta-ethnography | BMJ Open

72 The work of return to work. Challenges of returning to work when you have chronic pain: a meta-ethnography | BMJ Open

73 Importance of ill health to the UK's labour market participation challenge | Joseph Rowntree Foundation (jrf.org.uk)

74 Health is everyone’s business: proposals to reduce ill health-related job loss (publishing.service.gov.uk)

75 Health is everyone’s business: proposals to reduce ill health-related job loss (publishing.service.gov.uk)

76 Health is everyone’s business: proposals to reduce ill health-related job loss (publishing.service.gov.uk)

77 Health is everyone’s business: proposals to reduce ill health-related job loss (publishing.service.gov.uk): A range of suggestions were made for supporting those with longer-term ill health and disability to remain in the workplace.

78 Importance of ill health to the UK's labour market participation challenge | Joseph Rowntree Foundation (jrf.org.uk); Scope (2023) ‘Disability in the workplace: how to retain disabled staff in employment’. Available at: Disabled employee retention | Disability charity Scope UK; https://media.actionforchildren.org.uk/documents/Breaking_through_the_barriers_Oct

79 The All-Party Parliamentary Report focuses on England in the main, where prescription charges are in place.

80 APPG-on-Poverty-Social-Security-Report.pdf (appgpoverty.org.uk)

81 What should an effective sick pay system look like? CIPD recommendations for ensuring a financial safety net for workers during illness

82 https://media.actionforchildren.org.uk/documents/Breaking_through_the_barriers_Oct

83 Importance of ill health to the UK's labour market participation challenge | Joseph Rowntree Foundation (jrf.org.uk)

84 What should an effective sick pay system look like? CIPD recommendations for ensuring a financial safety net for workers during illness; Health is everyone’s business: proposals to reduce ill health-related job loss (publishing.service.gov.uk)

85 Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) : Eligibility - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

86 https://media.actionforchildren.org.uk/documents/Breaking_through_the_barriers_Oct

87 https://media.actionforchildren.org.uk/documents/Breaking_through_the_barriers_Oct

88 https://media.actionforchildren.org.uk/documents/Breaking_through_the_barriers_Oct

89 What should an effective sick pay system look like? CIPD recommendations for ensuring a financial safety net for workers during illness

90 Does reduced employment protection increase the employment disadvantage of workers with low education and poorer health? | Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health (bmj.com)

91 Health-and-inequality-The-IFS-Deaton-Review-of-Inequalities.pdf

92 Figure 3, Annual Population Survey via NOMIS (nomisweb.co.uk)

93 The Scottish Survey Core Questions pools a set of 20 core questions asked across Scotland’s largest surveys: the Scottish Health Survey, the Scottish Household Survey, and the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey. This provides larger sample sizes and more robust and reliable evidence on the composition, characteristics and attitudes of Scottish households and adults across a number of topic areas, including equality characteristics, housing, employment, health and perceptions of crime.

94 These scores are derived from the Shortened Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS). There are seven questions in the shortened scale, with a top score of 35 available. The scores presented here are the average/mean. Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS) © University of Warwick 2006, all rights reserved.

95 Supporting documents - Scottish Surveys Core Questions 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) (see the Supplementary Tables).

96 Supporting documents - Scottish Surveys Core Questions 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) (see the Supplementary Tables).

97 Thriving at Work: the Stevenson/Farmer review on mental health and employers (publishing.service.gov.uk)

98 Thriving at Work: the Stevenson/Farmer review on mental health and employers (publishing.service.gov.uk)

99 Thriving at Work: the Stevenson/Farmer review on mental health and employers (publishing.service.gov.uk)

100 Thriving at Work: the Stevenson/Farmer review on mental health and employers (publishing.service.gov.uk)

101 Weve-only-just-begun.pdf (resolutionfoundation.org)

102 https://media.actionforchildren.org.uk/documents/Breaking_through_the_barriers_Oct

103 Weve-only-just-begun.pdf (resolutionfoundation.org)

104 MHF-Investing-in-Prevention-Report-Summary.pdf (mentalhealth.org.uk)

105 MHF-Investing-in-Prevention-Report-Summary.pdf (mentalhealth.org.uk)

106 Weve-only-just-begun.pdf (resolutionfoundation.org)

107 deloitte-uk-mental-health-and-employers

108 Towards a better understanding of work participation among employees with common mental health problems: a systematic realist review - PMC (nih.gov)

109 Importance of ill health to the UK's labour market participation challenge | Joseph Rowntree Foundation (jrf.org.uk)

110 How to respond to chronic health problems in the workplace? | European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (europa.eu)

111 How to respond to chronic health problems in the workplace? | European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (europa.eu)

112 Thriving at Work: the Stevenson/Farmer review on mental health and employers (publishing.service.gov.uk)

113 Inequality-in-English-post-16-education.pdf

114 Reasons for workers aged over 50 years leaving employment since the start of the coronavirus pandemic - Office for National Statistics

115 Older workers after the pandemic: creating an inclusive labour market | TUC

116 Scope (2023) ‘Disability in the workplace: how to retain disabled staff in employment’. Available at: Disabled employee retention | Disability charity Scope UK;

117 Scope (2023) ‘Disability in the workplace: how to retain disabled staff in employment’. Available at: Disabled employee retention | Disability charity Scope UK;

118 Transport poverty: a public health issue (publichealthscotland.scot)

119 Transport poverty: a public health issue (publichealthscotland.scot)

120 Transport poverty: a public health issue (publichealthscotland.scot)

121 Trends in economic inactivity across the OECD: The importance of the local dimension and a spotlight on the United Kingdom | READ online (oecd-ilibrary.org)

122 Net childcare costs | Benefits and wages | OECD iLibrary (oecd-ilibrary.org)

123 https://media.actionforchildren.org.uk/documents/Breaking_through_the_barriers_Oct; Childcare Survey 2023_Coram Family and Childcare.pdf (familyandchildcaretrust.org)

124 https://media.actionforchildren.org.uk/documents/Breaking_through_the_barriers_Oct

125 https://media.actionforchildren.org.uk/documents/Breaking_through_the_barriers_Oct

126 https://media.actionforchildren.org.uk/documents/Breaking_through_the_barriers_Oct

127 The Disability Gap – Insecure work in the UK (lancaster.ac.uk)

128 The Disability Gap – Insecure work in the UK (lancaster.ac.uk)

129 The Disability Gap – Insecure work in the UK (lancaster.ac.uk)