Three million days lost to mental ill-health in 2026

Over the next three years, this partnership will expand access to proactive mental health support across workplaces and communities, ensuring people can reach help when they need it most.

This new programme builds on Simplyhealth’s broader mental health offering, supporting its 2.5 million customers with services including 24/7 mental health support within its health plans.

Mental health is a leading driver of workplace absence, with the CIPD and Simplyhealth’s Health and Wellbeing at Work report, finding it is a key driver for both long-term (41%) and short-term (29%) absences, contributing to the UK’s sickness epidemic. According to data from 2024/25 HSE report, 22.1m sick days were taken due to mental ill health, based on these trends, the UK reaches three million days lost to mental ill health related issues by 19 February 2026.

Key stats

• 1 in 4 people experience poor mental health every year¹
• 26% of organisations report stress as a cause of short-term absence in their top three causes.²
• The most common causes of stress are heavy workloads (41%), followed by personal health issues (37%) and family/relationships(34%).²
• 64% of HR professionals reported stress-related absence in their organisation in the last year.²
• 64% of organisations report that they are taking steps to identify and/or reduce stress in the workplace.²
• However, only 50% of organisations think their efforts are effective.²
• 40% of people who are not working report mental ill health as the cause, with 70% stating that they see this as a barrier to finding work.³
• Mental health is the greatest health concern among adults living in the UK.  Ahead of cancer and obesity.⁴

For 150 years, Simplyhealth has been committed to breaking down barriers to healthcare and championing fair, equitable workplace health benefits for all. Through its charitable funding and partnerships Simplyhealth aims to make mental health support more accessible for everyone in the UK.

Over the next three years, Simplyhealth and its charity partners are setting ambitious targets to expand the reach of mental health support across the UK. In its first year, the partnership aims to reach and engage 600 UK businesses, fund 104 virtual Mental Health Aware workshops for SMEs, training 2,600 employees on workplace mental health topics. The programme also targets supporting an additional 60,000 mental health text conversations and recruiting 120 new volunteers to strengthen Shout’s 24/7 text service, the only service of this type available in the UK.

Paul Schreier, CEO at Simplyhealth, said: “Through our partnerships, we’re using our profits in a meaningful and impactful way to improve access to mental health support for people across the UK. Workplace absence costs the economy billions each year; by offering mental health benefits to employees, businesses can prevent stress-related illness before it escalates. We are proud to be working with these three incredible organisations to drive real change, and support both employers, employees and the wider community. The challenge is significant, but together we can address the mental ill health crisis and help more people get the support they need, when they need it.”

Mark Rowland, chief executive of Mental Health Foundation, said: “We’re delighted to be one of Simplyhealth’s charity partners for this ambitious three‑year collaboration. The Mental Health Foundation’s vision is good mental health for all, and we are focused on tackling the root causes of poor mental health and preventing problems before they arise. This partnership gives us a powerful opportunity to drive meaningful change by helping more people protect their mental health at an earlier stage. Healthy working lives, in particular, are essential to the wellbeing of individuals, families, and communities, and this partnership will help shine a light on the practical steps that can make a real difference. Together, we can empower more people to support their wellbeing and champion better mental health across the UK. We’re excited for what we can achieve together.”

Sarah McIntosh, CEO at Mental Health First Aid England, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Simplyhealth to provide workplace mental health training to SMEs. Since MHFA England were formed nearly 20 years ago, we have worked with over 20,000 organisations. Physical and mental health are intrinsically linked and with most of us spending a third of our time at work, the workplace is a huge factor in our mental health. The training will improve understanding of mental health and challenge stigma so people can talk more freely about mental health, because everyone should be able to offer and seek support when it is needed. This initiative will ensure that more small organisations can create healthy workplaces where people and business thrive.”

Victoria Hornby, CEO of Mental Health Innovations said: ‘We’re delighted to partner with Simplyhealth to provide crucial, 24/7 mental health support to people across the UK. Alongside the findings from Simplyhealth, our own research found that 78% of people have told us they were unemployed due to their mental health, so providing extra support and tackling workplace wellbeing has never been more important.  This partnership will enable us to ensure that no one faces a crisis alone, and that support is available for those who need it.’

Simplyhealth provides fast 24/7 mental health support and counselling, health cash plans and a range of pay-as-you-go services – from open ended therapy, to coaching and neurodiversity assessments. No GP referral or pre-approval is needed, and all pre-existing conditions are covered. As a business with no shareholders, Simplyhealth is committed to its purpose of improving access to healthcare for all in the UK, reinvesting its profits to make healthcare more accessible for everyone. Simplyhealth continually evolve and improve the services it delivers and throughout 2026 it will look at how it can evolve its mental health proposition, working together with its partners. 

If you are an SME (250 employees or less) and have not yet undertaken any formal mental health training within your workplace, you can secure a funded place on one of the 104 Mental Health Aware virtual courses delivered by MHFA England, by booking your free place here: https://forms.office.com/e/BK1sz4Xhvt

References
1 NHS England https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/adults/

2 CIPD and Simplyhealth Health and Wellbeing at Work Report 2025

3 Institute of Global Health Innovation and Mental Health Innovations https://www.imperial.ac.uk/Stories/working-well-improving-mental-health-workplace/

4 Ipsos research September 2024 – https://www.ipsos.com/en/ipsos-health-service-report