The protection gap: Frontline and mobile workers are missing out on vital support

Some types of employees struggle to access help with their health and wellbeing. REBA’s first report in its latest trilogy, in partnership with Personal Group, shows how frontline, shift-based and deskless workers can access support to stay healthy, engaged and in work.

At a time when the government is desperate to stimulate growth, sickness absence and long-term ill health are impacting productivity and placing significant pressure on individuals, employers and the economy. The link is a nation-sized challenge.

The government’s own Keep Britain Working review describes it as a “quiet but urgent crisis”, warning that poor health is becoming a defining constraint on economic growth and labour market resilience, and highlighting some stark statistics:

More than one in five working-age people are now economically inactive.
Long-term sick represents the largest and fastest-growing group out of work.
Since the pandemic, the number of people ‘economically inactive due to long-term sickness’ is up to 2.5 million.
Ill-health costs the state £212 billion through lost output and increased spending.
Sickness absence is costing businesses an average of £120 per employee per day.

Recognising that government alone cannot solve the problem, the review places employers at the centre of improving work-health outcomes. A new ‘roadmap’ is being developed through a partnership with more than 60 “vanguard employers” including British Airways, Google UK and Sainsbury’s. Over a three-year period, these organisations will test workplace health initiatives, share data and help develop new standards for healthy working cultures.

While the government focuses on coordination, evidence and incentives, employers will be expected to take greater responsibility for understanding the causes of poor health and implementing practical solutions. Within seven years, the hope is that employers across the UK can adopt these new approaches centred on prevention, early intervention, rehabilitation and sustainable return to work.

Why frontline workers struggle to access support

The report also highlights that the burden of ill health is not shared equally across the workforce: lower-paid workers are significantly more likely to experience sickness absence and are often concentrated in physically demanding sectors and occupations like manufacturing, care and customer services. Two in five low earners say their job negatively affects their mental health, while one in three reports physical health problems caused by work.

Financial insecurity often compounds these challenges. For many workers, taking time off because of illness carries an immediate financial penalty. Although recent reforms under the Employment Rights Act 2025 removed the lower earnings threshold for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) and made it available from the first day of sickness, support remains limited. SSP for 2026/27 is capped at £123.25 per week - just 17% of the average weekly earnings at the lower level – and fewer than one third of employers provide sick pay above this statutory minimum.

There are also practical barriers preventing lower-income workers from taking time off:

Many work in low-margin sectors like retail and hospitality where absences can be operationally disruptive.
Financial pressures mean workers cannot afford reduced earnings, with just under a third of people enjoying less than £1,000 in savings.
A stretch on resources makes it difficult for managers to release staff.
Cultures with low psychological safety discourage employees from discussing health issues or financial concerns early.

As a result, many continue working while unwell, delay treatment or return to work before they have fully recovered, often leading to more serious health issues, longer-term absences and ultimately greater costs for employee and employer.

Building more inclusive benefits strategies

Employers increasingly recognise that financial wellbeing and health are closely linked, but they’re also facing rising costs, higher NI contributions and pressure to demonstrate the ROI of employee benefits.

Against this backdrop - and with the cost of PMI rising – many organisations are rethinking how they fund and deliver support through alternative approaches that broaden access without significantly increasing costs. These include employer-facilitated, employee-funded solutions such as:

Cash plans.
Life insurance.
Income protection.
Tiered benefit models enabling employees to buy more cover at discounted rates.

Practical ways to improve benefits uptake and engagement

Employers are also focusing on maximising the value of existing benefits by reducing duplication, improving signposting and strengthening early and low-cost intervention pathways, including:

Digital access combined with face-to-face engagement.
Better-equipped line managers.
Communicating the availability of support through a combination of app-led notifications and underused state schemes like Access to Work and WorkWell.
Making sure benefits are designed around how frontline and lower-income workers actually need and access support.

We finish the report with a seven-point action plan:

Start with workforce insight.
Design for every workforce cohort.
Prioritise access and ease of use.
Communicate through the channels your people actually use.
Bring your benefits to life through real stories.
Include employee-funded benefits in your strategy.
Measure, learn and evolve.

Download your complimentary copy of Report Part 1: Affordable access: inclusive benefits for frontline and shift workers.

Coming soon:

Report Part 2 - Removing the barriers: how employers can make cost-effective benefits truly work for the lower-paid workforce: Diagnosing the barriers workers face in affordability, access, payroll, trust and behaviour, and looking at the mechanisms employers can use to maximise take-up and increase support without significant spend.

Report Part 3 - Human connection: Building trust to build engagement: Laying out achievable solutions through communication, human connection and face-to face engagement, with a particular focus on workers needing the most support but receiving the least.