IMMEDIATE RELEASE

23 September 2026

Andy Burnham can deliver his aim of helping more people with mental health problems move into work by leading a step-change in workplace practices and employment support, rather than stepping up punitive benefits sanctions.

That is the message of new research by the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute – the charity founded and chaired by Martin Lewis (Money Saving Expert) – which explores the systemic barriers that people with mental health problems face in accessing jobs and staying in work. The report is supported by the Head On campaign, a coalition of over 20 leading UK mental health charities that bring together frontline expertise, lived experience and practical solutions. 

National data analysis published in the report underlines the scale of the problem, showing that 2 out of 5 adults in England who are unemployed or economically inactive have a common mental health condition such as depression or anxiety. If reflected across the UK, that would amount to 4.2m people in total. It also shows that 1 in 5 people in work have a common mental health condition, accounting for another 6m workers. (1)

The research highlights that many people in both these cohorts are likely to experience common symptoms of poor mental health — from memory and concentration problems to difficulties communicating — that make it harder to find or stay in work.

But the report warns that the employment support system fails to understand or respond to these challenges, and instead pushes people with mental health problems into workplaces that don’t meet their needs — resulting in jobs that fail, and leading to people falling out of work and sometimes leaving the labour market altogether. The key findings of the report are:

• Most people with mental health problems want to work and can work with the right support. In a survey by Money and Mental Health of 468 people with lived experience of mental health problems for the research (2), 75% of respondents who are economically inactive said that improved support from employers or the government would help to move them closer to employment.
• But mainstream employment support doesn’t meet the needs of people with mental health problems. Respondents reported that they feel pushed by employment support services to accept any job, rather than one which enables them to balance work with managing their mental health. People also say that Jobcentre Work Coaches often fail to understand how common symptoms of mental health problems impact people’s ability to look for work, and generic CV workshops and job training rarely reflect these challenges. 

• Many employers are striving to support employees with their wellbeing. But toxic attitudes in some workplaces are making it much harder for people to stay in work or move into a job.  Almost two thirds (64%) of survey participants say they have been treated badly by employers due to their mental health problems. That includes stories of people being bullied, mocked or even discriminated against after disclosing their mental health problem to a manager or colleague. Around two thirds (64%) of survey participants also said that employers are not willing to hire people who they know have mental health problems.

• When in work, many people with mental health problems are scared to ask for adjustments – and are often dismissed if they do ask. 87% of survey respondents said that they would benefit from reasonable adjustments such as flexibility over working hours or location. However, 31% said they didn’t feel able to request adjustments, while 17% reported asking for adjustments but being turned down. Only 38% of respondents said they had requested and received reasonable adjustments. 
• This lack of support is forcing many people to make significant sacrifices to stay in work – often at the expense of their financial and mental wellbeing. Nearly half (46%) of respondents said they had accepted a lower salary in order to stay in work, while others reported reducing their working hours or taking a job below their skill level — all of which are driving increased anxiety about being able to afford food, bills and other essentials. Shockingly, only 5% of respondents told us they had made no sacrifices at all.

In his first speech as Prime Minister, Andy Burnham stated his ambition to help more young people move into work by giving them more mental health support (3). He also pushed back on the idea of ‘crude cuts’ in his interview with Laura Kuenssberg, which he says often ‘just pushes people into even more crisis and then even more public spending in another part of the system’(4).  

There is pressure on the government to get the welfare bill down by cutting people off from their benefits. However, Money and Mental Health’s research shows that taking away or reducing someone’s main source of income when they’re struggling with their mental health can cause financial and psychological harm (5). Instead, tailored employment support and in-work flexibility offer a route to get people with mental health problems into sustainable, secure work – bringing the benefits bill down for the longer term.

The report makes a number of recommendations for government on how it can deliver the step-change in employment support and working practices that is needed:

• Set clear expectations for employers on how they should meet the needs of workers with mental health problems. The government is currently developing a ‘Healthy Working Lifecycle’ standard for employers, based on recommendations from Sir Charlie Mayfield’s Keep Britain Working Review. To be effective, this standard needs to have a clear focus on addressing the challenges people with mental health problems too often face in the workplace – from introducing more supportive recruitment practices, to encouraging flexible working practices as standard and offering phased returns after a period of poor mental health.
• Empower regional and local leaders with more powers to transform employment support and practices in their areas. In particular, the government should ensure that mayors and other local leaders have the powers they need to incentivise local employers to follow the Healthy Working Standard, through procurement practices and celebrating examples of regional best practice. Government should also encourage regional leaders to consider how they can use their influence to integrate employment support services into local community provision, joining them up with financial support and healthcare.
• Ensure people with mental health problems can get the tailored support they need to move into work. That means scaling up the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) programme and other schemes which have proven effective at offering tailored support to help people with severe mental illness move into suitable work. It also means placing a specialist mental health Work Coach in every Jobcentre, to ensure that job seekers with mental health problems can get tailored support.
• End punitive sanctions and reporting regimes that prioritise finding any work or position over finding the role that is right for the individual.

Commenting on the research, Conor D’Arcy, Deputy Chief Executive of the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, said:

ENDS

Contact:

For media enquiries, please contact Alex Goodfellow, External Affairs Officer at Money and Mental Health at [email protected].

Notes to Editors

1. Money and Mental Health analysis of the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) 2023/24. The APMS is a survey of England only. We apply the proportion of people aged 16-64 with a common mental health condition to the UK-wide employment estimates from the Labour Force Survey (August 2026) to reach the 4.2 million and 6 million figures.
2. We conducted two surveys between March and May 2026. Survey 1 ran from 20th March – 3rd April, with 322 responses and Survey 2 ran from 22nd to 27th May 2026, with 295 responses.
3. Gov.UK. Andy Burnham’s first speech as Prime Minister: 20 July 2026. July 2026.
4. BBC News – Newscast. The Andy Burnham Interview. July 2026.
5. Bond N. Set up to fail. Money and Mental Health Policy Institute. 2021

• Previous reports Money and Mental Health has done in this area include: Untapped potential, Closing the gap, and No one left behind.