On Wednesday 5 November, 2025, the UK government’s Keep Britain Working review, led by Sir Charlie Mayfield, was met with criticism for failing to address the ongoing impact of Long Covid and the need for workplace infection control. Long Covid Advocacy, a leading organization advocating for those affected by Long Covid, raised urgent concerns about the review’s final report, which was published in November 2025.
The review, which was designed to address workforce health and disability, has been criticized for not mentioning Long Covid or the pandemic as drivers of rising ill-health-related work absence. According to the report, there has been an increase of 800,000 people out of work due to ill health since 2019, but it fails to provide context for this alarming trend. Experts warn that ignoring Long Covid, a condition that affects hundreds of thousands of working-age people, is a major oversight.
A spokesperson for Long Covid Advocacy stated, “Failing to recognize Long Covid and the ongoing risk of reinfection, while also ignoring basic workplace protections such as clean air and infection control, is a recipe for disaster.”
The impact of Long Covid on the workforce has been confirmed by data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in 2022, which shows that people of working age who report having Long Covid are significantly more likely to be economically inactive. A study published in The Lancet in 2024 also highlights the severity of Long Covid, stating that it “can affect multiple organ systems and lead to severe and protracted impairment of function.” The Institute for Fiscal Studies has also reported that Long Covid is reshaping the labor market and contributing to long-term sickness absence.
The omission of Long Covid and pandemic-related health impacts in the Keep Britain Working review has raised concerns about the misdiagnosis of the causes of workforce inactivity. Furthermore, the review’s policy guidance ignores the importance of workplace infection control and clean air measures, which are crucial for preventing relapses and protecting all employees. Despite existing research clearly demonstrating Long Covid’s impact on labor participation, the review treats workforce ill-health as if the pandemic never happened.
In light of these concerns, Long Covid Advocacy has made the following recommendations to the government:
1. Explicitly recognize Long Covid in national workforce strategy and planning.
2. Introduce safe and flexible return-to-work pathways for those with fluctuating capacity.
3. Implement infection control measures and improved ventilation standards in workplaces.
4. Collect and publish data on post-infection workforce impacts to inform evidence-based interventions.
Claire Every from Long Covid Advocacy stated, “We cannot ‘keep Britain working’ by ignoring the ongoing impact of the pandemic. Workers need protection, support, and policies based on evidence.”
It is evident that Long Covid’s impact on the workforce cannot be ignored, and immediate action is needed to address the concerns raised by Long Covid Advocacy. The government must take into account the recommendations made by the organization in order to protect the health and productivity of the British workforce.
