What these plans are
The Keep Britain Working review puts two simple tools at the centre of keeping people in work. A stay-in-work plan is for someone who is still working but struggling: a short, practical agreement about adjustments and flexibility that lets them keep going rather than tipping into sickness absence. A return-to-work plan is for someone who has been off: an agreed way to bring them back, staying in contact during the absence and easing them in rather than expecting full duties from day one.
The review suggests a return-to-work plan should be in place from around six weeks into an absence, with contact maintained in the meantime, because the longer someone is off and out of touch, the harder coming back becomes.
The September 2026 Keep Britain Working update tests an earlier rhythm than the review's six weeks. The commitments being tested with Vanguard employers are:
| Moment | Commitment being tested |
|---|---|
| Absence starts | Contact on day one where possible, and no later than day 3. |
| The plan | A return-to-work plan co-created for any absence, particularly those likely to pass 4 weeks or linked to underlying conditions, with provision engaged within 10 working days where needed. |
| After return | Regular touchpoints agreed with the employee. Sustained return measured at 6 months, not day one. |
They are early examples being tested, not firm proposals. The reason for the earlier timing is in the same update: someone absent for four to six weeks has a 96% chance of returning, and after a year fewer than half do. For someone still working but struggling, see stay-in-work plans and the free plan builder.
Source: GOV.UK, Keep Britain Working: a national growth opportunity, September 2026, published 23 September 2026, chapter three.
Why they matter more for small firms
A big employer has HR and occupational health to catch this. In a small firm, someone goes off sick, everyone is busy, contact quietly drops, and six weeks later nobody has spoken to them. That is how a manageable absence becomes a permanent loss of a good person, and the cost of replacing them dwarfs the cost of a phone call and a plan. Getting this right is one of the highest-return, lowest-cost things a small employer can do.
A simple stay-in-work plan
- Notice early. A light, regular wellbeing check-in tells you someone is struggling before they hit the wall.
- Have the conversation. Ask what would help. Often it is small: adjusted hours, a lighter load for a fortnight, working from home, a break from a specific task.
- Write it down and set a review date. A few lines, agreed by both sides, with a date to check in. That record is also your evidence you acted.
A simple return-to-work plan
- Stay in touch during the absence. Agree how and how often, so coming back is not a cold start.
- Plan the first few weeks. Phased hours, reduced duties, or a temporary change, easing up to full over an agreed period.
- Agree it together, and keep it dated. The plan is between the employee and the employer. A dated record is both good practice and your evidence.
Where to start
These plans work best when they sit inside a wider habit of measuring how people are doing and acting on it. Our free 4-minute Strategy Audit tells you whether that habit actually exists in your business, and names your biggest gap. No call, no card.
The early-warning part, spotting who is struggling before they go off, is what our free non-clinical wellbeing pulse, the Intelligent Wellbeing Engine, is built for. It is the measurement layer, not a separate purchase.
Read next
Stay-in-work plans: free plan builder · What absence data employers will track · The workplace health standard, explained