Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Recruitment & retention
    • Wellbeing
    • Occupational Health
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Recruitment & retention
    • Wellbeing
    • Occupational Health
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise

StressLatest NewsSickness absenceHR practiceWellbeing

Stressed-out staff set to get therapy

by dan thomas 4 Jul 2006
by dan thomas 4 Jul 2006


Burnt-out employees who sign off work through stress will be targeted for therapy to get them back to their job, under new plans to shake up incapacity benefit being unveiled today.


The move, part of the Welfare Reform Bill,  reflects a significant rise in the number of people, particularly women, claiming sickness benefits on the grounds of stress or mental health problems rather than physical illness.


Ministers will alter the so-called capability test, which assesses whether claimants are fit to work, so that it measures stress better, and offer targeted help to get people suffering from it back to work.


The Bill will toughen the criteria on which people are judged fit either to seek work or be refused benefit if they do not. It will also require single parents to make greater efforts to find work or face losing their benefits.


Mental disorders now represent 40% of incapacity benefit claims, up from 16% in 1988.


In an interview on BBC radio, work and pensions secretary John Hutton said the “rather grim statistic” was people on incapacity benefit for more than two years were more likely to die or retire than ever get back to work.


Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

“What we want to do is to measure people’s capacity to work more intelligently rather than simply measure their incapacity to work,” he said. “We’ve got to see people as potential job seekers and help them to get back into the labour market.”

 

dan thomas

previous post
Office productivity falls as temperatures soar
next post
Friends Provident to close final salary schemes and raise retirement age

You may also like

How to manage workplace investigations effectively

5 Sep 2025

Manager who called bosses ‘dickheads’ was unfairly dismissed

5 Sep 2025

Jaguar Land Rover staff sent home after cyber...

5 Sep 2025

Agency crackdown won’t cure NHS staffing crisis alone

5 Sep 2025

‘Terrible’ Employment Rights Bill returns to Commons

4 Sep 2025

Connect to Work scheme to benefit 15 areas...

4 Sep 2025

Working with pesticides linked to higher risk of...

4 Sep 2025

Sandie Peggie launches fresh legal action against NHS...

3 Sep 2025

How to stop flying blind with workforce planning

3 Sep 2025

Ex-Specsavers director suspended over wrongful expense claims of...

3 Sep 2025

  • Work smart – stay well: Avoid unnecessary pain with centred ergonomics SPONSORED | If you often notice...Read more
  • Elevate your L&D strategy at the World of Learning 2025 SPONSORED | This October...Read more
  • How to employ a global workforce from the UK (webinar) WEBINAR | With an unpredictable...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits Live
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Recruitment & retention
    • Wellbeing
    • Occupational Health
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise