Mental ill-health is the leading cause of workplace absence in the UK. It has topped the list of employer concerns for several consecutive years. And yet sickness absence continues to rise — with the CIPD reporting absence levels at their highest in 15 years.
If the problem is so well understood, why are the numbers still moving in the wrong direction?
The answer, in most organisations, is that they are trying to solve a prevention problem with a response strategy. And health assessments are one of the most effective tools available to shift that balance — if they are done properly.
The CIPD and Simplyhealth’s Health and Wellbeing at Work report consistently finds that mental health drives 41% of long-term absence and 29% of short-term absence. Physical health — musculoskeletal problems, chronic conditions, issues that go untreated because NHS waiting times are long — accounts for much of the rest.
Most organisations respond to this by investing in EAP helplines, counselling referrals, and mental health first aiders.
These are valuable. But they are response tools. They activate after someone is already struggling, already absent, already disengaged.
The door is open, but only once the horse has bolted.
The CIPD report found that while the majority of senior leaders now have wellbeing on their agenda, the main focus of activity remains reactive rather than proactive. Knowing the problem exists is not the same as intervening before it escalates.
The government’s Keep Britain Working Review identified that the UK now has a higher rate of health-related economic inactivity than comparable economies including the Netherlands and Denmark. It attributes this partly to a system that defaults to reactive support.
One figure from the review illustrates the problem: 93% of fit notes issued by GPs in England declare the patient ‘not fit for work’ with no exploration of phased returns, adjustments, or early support. The system is certifying people out of the workforce rather than helping them stay in it.
The review calls for a fundamental shift: employers taking a more active role in prevention, early identification, and stay-in-work support rather than waiting for the NHS fit note system to make the call.
This shift is also becoming a compliance matter. The HSE now treats psychosocial risks — stress, burnout, unmanageable workload — on the same legal footing as physical hazards.
Employers who cannot demonstrate they are proactively identifying and managing these risks face significant penalties. This is no longer just a people issue. It is a governance one.
A properly delivered health assessment is an early identification tool. It catches problems before they become absences. For example, elevated stress indicators, physical health issues driving presenteeism, lifestyle factors that quietly compound into something more serious.
Early identification enables early intervention. And early intervention keeps people well and in work. Deloitte research cited in the Keep Britain Working Review found an average £4.70 return for every £1 invested in workplace health interventions across 26 studies. That is the difference between health as a cost and health as a long-term investment.
Health assessments also do something less quantifiable but equally important: they signal to employees that the organisation is genuinely invested in their health not just interested in managing their absence. People who receive that signal are more likely to raise concerns early, before they reach crisis point.
But the quality of the assessment matters. A health assessment that produces a report and then offers no follow-up pathway does little more than create anxiety. The value is in what happens next; clear results in plain language, and a straightforward route to intervention when something needs addressing.
Our health assessments are built around the principle that identification without action is not enough. Every assessment includes instant results in plain English, no medical jargon, no confusion and a GP reviews every report.
Where follow-up is needed, employees have a clear pathway to GPs, physiotherapy, and mental health support through Verve On Demand, without waiting lists or complicated referral routes.
Our health checks and assessments run from the Well Check and Plan at £49.99 per employee, a nurse-led check covering key lifestyle and health indicators, through to comprehensive assessments with full GP oversight.
We build each assessment around the actual risk profile of your workforce, not a generic template.
Assessments can be delivered at our CQC-registered clinics, on-site at your workplace, or remotely — whichever works best for your operation.
Mental ill-health has topped employer concerns for years. The data is clear, the case for action is well made but what changes outcomes is moving the investment upstream, from responding to absence to preventing it.
Health assessments are where that shift starts.
Choose from our tiered health assessments or create your own. No lengthy contracts, pay only for what you use.
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