DWP PIP warning as 'vicious cycle' sees record number of Brits fall sick due to three factors

More people applied for out-of-work sickness benefits in the first four months of this year than ever before, according to statistics published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Health experts have warned that, whichever party ends up overseeing benefits, they will need to break the "vicious cycle" causing more and more people to become too sick to work.

The number of new applications for the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) sickness and disability benefit in the first quarter of 2024 grew to a record-breaking 250,000, with 84 per cent of applicants (210,000) approved for the benefit. Researchers at Lancaster University recently attributed the rise in sickness to the conditions that many unwell or disabled Brits find themselves working in.

Alice Martin, Head of Research at the university's Work Foundation, has argued that this rise in sickness can be linked to poor employment conditions, saying: “The truth is our workforce is getting sicker and yet not everyone gets the time off they need to live healthy lives. The current low rate of sick pay compels some people to work while they are unwell to make ends meet. "

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More than half of the 1.1 million workers in the UK who do not earn enough to qualify for statutory sick pay are women, while a third are disabled. The research showed that this lack of access to appropriate levels of sick pay, lower levels of regular time off, and a lack of planning for routes back into work, all contribute to the 2.83 million people who are of working age but now signed off work due to ill health.

This spike in sickness is an increase of almost one-half since 2021. Alice