Manufacturers call for full implementation of Mayfield Review to tackle UK sickness crisis

Harnessing new findings from its 2026 State of Wellbeing survey, Make UK urgently calls on the government to implement the recommendations of the Mayfield Review in full.

The report highlights a significant “parity gap” between how companies treat physical safety versus mental wellbeing. 

More than nine in ten companies (91 per cent) for example, have risk assessments in place for manual handling and 80 per cent on chemicals and substances. However, significantly fewer companies have assessments in place for wellbeing (60 per cent) and stress (48 per cent).

The survey, which went to 250 senior decision makers and 200 shopfloor workers, also found that although more than three quarters (78 per cent) training on dealing with chemicals and substances, this falls to just over half of companies (54 per cent) providing training on stress.

"While fatalities remain an important indicator, an over-reliance on them can risk masking wider issues," says Make UK. Photograph: iStock

The experience of those on the shopfloor is significantly less with just a third saying they are given training on stress. 

Commenting, Chris Newson, Director of Environment, Health & Safety at Make UK, said: “The number of fatalities in UK workplaces has fallen consistently fallen, establishing the UK as a global leader in workplace health and safety. This is a significant and hard-won achievement."

“However, while fatalities remain an important indicator, an over-reliance on them can risk masking wider issues. The data suggests that trends in wellbeing and long-term ill health are worsening with the size of the problem growing, not shrinking. This demands a more rounded approach from companies in every sector of the economy to workforce health, not just manufacturing.”

Make UK calls on government to implement Mayfield’s recommendations. The Mayfield Review, or the Keep Britain Working Review aims to tackle our inactivity crisis in which more than one in five working-age adults are out of workforce due to long-term sickness.

The chief points in the review to implement now says Make UK are:
•    Make the Health Working lifecycle an accredited standard that employers can measure themselves against.
•    Launch a range of funding options to support tangible wellbeing initiatives
•    Promote a joined-up approach between employers, government & the health service.

“Given the societal costs associated with workplace ill health across the economy, not just in manufacturing, this is also an issue Government cannot ignore,” said Newson.

Read the State of Wellbeing in 2026 Make UK report here