Building a Healthier Workforce in the UK: From ESG Intent to Evidenced Action

As ESG and sustainability reporting evolve, the UK is embedding workforce health and wellbeing within its broader disclosure landscape. While the EU’s CSRD does not directly apply, the UK Government and regulators are introducing complementary frameworks — ensuring that “social” impact includes measurable evidence of employee health, engagement, and return-to-work outcomes.

Current UK Requirements and Initiatives

The UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS) — based on the ISSB framework — form the UK’s disclosure baseline from 2025, linking social metrics to business performance. Meanwhile, the HSE Management Standards and Working Minds initiative require employers to assess and manage workplace stress and fatigue.

The WorkWell Programme, a UK-wide pilot led by DWP and DHSC, supports early intervention and return-to-work coordination between clinicians and employers. The Occupational Health Taskforce is developing a voluntary framework to expand OH access, particularly for SMEs, supported by government innovation grants to scale digital occupational-health models.

Why This Matters

33.7 million working days are lost annually to work-related ill health and injury, costing £21.6 billion per year according to HSE 2024 data. When presenteeism is included, the total economic impact is estimated at around £100 billion annually.

This is not just a health issue — it’s a material business and ESG risk.

From Data to Impact

Better occupational-health coverage and earlier intervention have been shown to reduce absence duration, lower claim frequency, and stabilise insurer loss ratios. This can be demonstrated using HSE benchmarks and organisational KPI baselines collected during implementation.

The challenge for 2025–2026 will be translating policy into measurable, data-driven action. At HealthNEXT , we’ve recently joined Brokerslink as an affiliate— a partnership we believe can help facilitate stronger cultures of health within organisations by connecting occupational health expertise with broader risk management and employee benefits strategies. We’re focused on helping organisations turn workforce health strategies into documented business value that satisfies both ESG reporting requirements and commercial objectives.

The Takeaway

A healthy workforce is now a measurable component of corporate sustainability. By integrating occupational health, data governance, and ESG reporting, organisations can convert wellbeing investments into improved productivity, reduced risk, and demonstrable value for insurers and investors alike.