See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy DAVID WILCOCK, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 10:43 BST, 20 May 2026 | Updated: 11:28 BST, 20 May 2026
GPs in England are to stop issuing 'dead end' sick notes under a trial designed to keep people in work and cut the UK's eye-watering benefits bill.Those seeking to be signed off work will be offered a range of personalised alternative options that could include seeing a job coach or therapy plans including exercise or gardening, it was reported.Last year more than 11.2 million 'fit notes' were issued, an increase of almost 300,000 on the previous year, at a time when some 2.8million people are now economically inactive for health reasons.The most common reasons for notes to be issued are mental health complains including depression and back problems. Four pilot schemes will look at ways to keep people in work or help people back into work, two of which will see patients kept away from GPs and dealt with by occupational therapists and 'social prescribers'.Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, said: 'Fit notes are too often a dead end - a piece of paper that tells people they can't work but does nothing to help them get better.'We're changing that. By bringing employers, the NHS, and patients together we can help people recover faster, stay connected to their jobs, and get the economy firing on all cylinders.'A report by former John Lewis boss Sir Charlie Mayfield released in November warned that the UK is 'sliding into an avoidable crisis'.He urged a reduced reliance on fit notes, with ill health among workers costing the country around 7 per cent of GDP and UK employers around £85 billion a year. Those seeking to be signed off work will be offered a range of personalised alternative options that could include seeing a job coach or therapy plans including exercise or gardening, it was reported. The Financial Times cited allies of Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden as saying he sees fit notes as a 'dead end'.The report told of a culture of fear among workers around ill health, a lack of an effective or consistent support system for employers and employees in managing health, and structural challenges for disabled people. Earlier this year the government rolled out the WorkWell programme expanded across England, aimed at ensuring people are not 'written off' sick.People involved in the scheme will be offered physiotherapy for back pain and mobility issues, counselling and psychological support for mental health issues – while employers will be given advice on helping accommodate health conditions in the workplace.Of the people supported through the pilot programme, almost half (48 per cent) had reported mental illness as their main barrier to employment, while six in 10 (59 per cent) were out of work at their first appointment for WorkWell.
