Record number of Brits off work – with many claiming back troubles after WFH

LONG-term sickness has left a record number off work — with many claiming that working from home has given them a bad back.

In all, 2.5million are off for the foreseeable future, up by more than 400,000 since the start of the Covid pandemic in 2020.

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It comes amid a spike in slouching staff with spinal problems and young people struggling with mental health, the Office for National Statistics said.

Darren Morgan, from the ONS, said there has been a strong rise in “problems connected to the back and neck, with some theories of home working contributing to that”.

Ministers are desperate to get people working again, as the Treasury struggles to pay the 5.2million on out-of-work benefits.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt recently brought forward reforms in his Budget to help the economically inactive, including a benefits revamp and more work coaches for the disabled.

Welfare Secretary Mel Stride last week said the basic rate of income tax could be cut by 2p if the 650,000 who left their jobs during the pandemic returned.

Chris Thomas, of the Institute for Public Policy Research, said: “Long-term sickness is fatally undermining our economy and holding back people’s ability to live long, happy and prosperous lives.”

Overall, unemployment rose to 3.9 per cent in the three months to March, the highest level since January 2022.

Vacancies fell for the tenth consecutive quarter to 1.08million.

But more than 100,000 early retirees under 64 came back to work in the year to March, a move probably driven by the cost of living crisis.

The Chancellor said: “It’s encouraging that the unemployment rate remains historically low.”