The UK government has unveiled its “Get Britain Working” White Paper, outlining comprehensive reforms to address economic inactivity and enhance employment opportunities across the economy.
The initiatives, which are set to cost £240m, aim to raise the employment rate to 80% by integrating health, skills and employment support. This comes at a time when figures show more than nine million people in the UK are economically inactive, with a record 2.8 million people out of work due to long-term sickness.
Plan for Reform
In summary, the key areas of the plan cover:
Reforming Jobcentre Plus into a new National Jobs and Careers Service
The government plans to overhaul the existing Jobcentre Plus network, merging it with the National Careers Service to create a combined service and platform.
The revamped service will be digital, inclusive and personalised, to help individuals find work, build skills and progress in their careers. It will emphasise jobseekers’ responsibility to actively search for work while building stronger relationships with employers to address recruitment needs and reduce reliance on foreign labour.
Backed by £55 million allocated in the recent Budget for 2025/26, it is intended to operate as a national, locally embedded service, working closely with local authorities, organisations and devolved governments.
Introduction of a Youth Guarantee
Aimed at individuals aged 18 to 21, the Youth Guarantee ensures that every young person is offered a job, training or educational opportunity. The initiative is designed to address the rising number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), to give them pathways to “meaningful” careers and reducing youth unemployment.
With £45 million allocated for 2025/26, the initiative will begin with eight Youth Guarantee trailblazers in partnership with mayoral authorities. The existing Apprenticeship Levy will be reformed into a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy, introducing new foundation and shorter apprenticeships in key sectors.
The government also plans to adjust benefit rules to allow young people to develop skills while searching for work and will expand support for 16 and 17-year-olds to guarantee education or training placements.
Independent Review into Role of UK Employers in Promoting Healthy and Inclusive Workplaces
A new, independent review, running until summer 2025, will explore ways to help employers improve recruitment and retention of disabled individuals, promote healthy workplaces and support early intervention for sickness absences to increase return-to-work rates.
This initiative will align with the government’s broader Make Work Pay reforms, focusing on job security and expanding flexible working. A Green Paper, set for spring 2025, will outline proposals to reform the health and disability benefits system, ensuring it better supports individuals with complex and fluctuating health conditions in entering and staying in work. The government plans to engage extensively with individuals with disabilities and stakeholders during the development process.
Investment in Health and Skills Support
Recognising the link between health and employment, the government is allocating £125 million to support individuals facing long-term sickness. This investment will fund health and skills programs in specific areas, assisting people in overcoming health-related barriers to employment and facilitating their return to the workforce.
Mayoral authorities will play a leading role in England. Eight place-based ‘trailblazers’ will be launched in collaboration with the Welsh Government, backed by £125 million in 2025/26. These trailblazers will trial innovative approaches, enhance engagement with economically inactive individuals, and partner with NHS Integrated Care Systems in three English regions. They will operate under shared governance and commit to robust evaluation to ensure effectiveness.
All areas in England will be encouraged to develop local Get Britain Working Plans, which will align with Local Growth Plans in mayoral regions or be managed by local authority groups elsewhere. These plans will focus on tackling economic inactivity and delivering the Youth Guarantee. An initial £115 million in funding next year will support local efforts, including the launch of Connect to Work, a supported employment program targeting up to 100,000 people annually.
From 2025/26, devolved funding for Connect to Work will be integrated into new settlements for Mayoral Combined Authorities, initially benefiting Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. This approach ties local initiatives into broader health, skills, and employment support frameworks while building active partnerships with local employers and leveraging the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Improving Employment Outcomes via NHS and Wider Healthcare
The government wants to strengthen the NHS’s role in improving employment outcomes and reduce health-related economic inactivity. With this aim, the NHS is set to deliver 40,000 additional elective appointments weekly and allocate resources to address waiting lists at 20 Trusts with the highest inactivity rates.
Key public health challenges contributing to unemployment will also be addressed, including expanding Talking Therapies, implementing the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, and introducing new obesity treatment trials. The initiative will also integrate expert employment advisers into mental health and musculoskeletal care pathways and expand the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) programme for severe mental illness, aiming to assist 140,000 more people by 2028/29.
Implications for UK Employers
Helping people to find and return to work by addressing the widespread skills and labour shortages affecting all sectors of the economy is vital if the UK is to make headway on a path to growth. The reforms aim to reduce economic inactivity, which is expected to increase the size and diversity of the workforce. Employers may benefit from access to previously untapped talent pools, including young people, individuals with disabilities, and those with health conditions. Initiatives such as the Youth Guarantee, supported employment programs like Connect to Work, and enhanced job and careers services promise to streamline recruitment and align job seekers with employer needs.
The integration of health interventions into employment pathways, such as expanded mental health and musculoskeletal support services, will likely result in healthier, more productive employees. These measures, alongside improvements in return-to-work support, may help employers reduce absenteeism and turnover, which are significant costs for businesses.
Employers may look to evaluate their workplace policies, particularly around flexible working and inclusivity. With the government’s focus on making workplaces healthier and more accommodating for employees with health conditions or caregiving responsibilities, being aligned to these standards will be essential for attracting and retaining talent.
Employers should also explore opportunities offered by the Growth and Skills Levy, which introduces more flexible apprenticeship options to meet sector-specific skill demands.
A reformed JobCentre Plus system is also likely to be welcomed by employers, if it delivers on the promise of closer collaboration between employers, employment services and workers.
However, these efforts must be considered against the backdrop of wider proposed reforms, notably the provisions under the Employment Rights Bill, which could have implications for any efforts to drive down unemployment due to proposals such as limiting the availability of flexible working arrangements. Flexible working is essential for many workers, as it improves access to jobs and increases opportunities to work, enabling a wider range of people to participate in the labour market. For employers, flexible working arrangements can help open up vacancies to a more diverse pool of candidates.
Need Assistance?
While the initiative’s goal of increasing employment rates is commendable, employers will need to closely monitor developments as more details emerge, allowing them to better understand the opportunities and risks involved.
With skills and labour shortages persisting across the economy, employers will generally be supportive of any drive to increase the size of the UK’s active workforce. However, this paper does not exist in a vacuum. The Employment Rights Bill is making its way through the legislative process, including the current consultation process, which may also have implications for the labour market and employment opportunities.
Employers may also face challenges as any reforms are implemented. For example, the proposed integration of services may create initial complexities. Employers might encounter difficulties navigating new systems or delays in accessing resources as these partnerships and programmes take shape. Employers will therefore need to remain aware of risks associated with these reforms, undertaking strategic preparation with careful management of risks.
To discuss these developments and what they could mean for your organisation, contact our experts.
Read the White Paper in full here.
Author
Founder and Managing Director Anne Morris is a fully qualified solicitor and trusted adviser to large corporates through to SMEs, providing strategic immigration and global mobility advice to support employers with UK operations to meet their workforce needs through corporate immigration.
She is a recognised by Legal 500 and Chambers as a legal expert and delivers Board-level advice on business migration and compliance risk management as well as overseeing the firm’s development of new client propositions and delivery of cost and time efficient processing of applications.
Anne is an active public speaker, immigration commentator, and immigration policy contributor and regularly hosts training sessions for employers and HR professionals
