Young people more likely to be off work sick than those in their 40s
People in their 20s are more likely to be off work with ill health than employees twice their age, new research has revealed.
Young workers can end up unemployed or going into low-paid jobs due to the impact of mental health problems on their education, the study found.
The data was collected by British think tank, The Resolution Foundation, funded by charity, The Health Foundation, which called for cross-party government action to prevent a “lost generation” of young employees.
The research was published as official data pointed to an increase in young people with poor mental health.
In 2021/22, 34% of young people aged 18-24 reported symptoms of mental disorder, including depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder – a 10% increase compared to the figures reported in 2000.
Young women are one-and-a-half times more likely to be affected than young men (41% versus 26%), according to the research.
Between 2018 and 2022, some 21% of 18 to 24-year-olds with mental health problems were unemployed, compared to 13% without, the new study found.
In 2022, 40% of the same age group with mental health problems were in low-paid jobs, compared to 35% of their healthier peers.
Mental health problems increase failing GCSE risk
Some 79% of people aged 18-24 who are “workless” due to ill health were identified to only have qualifications at GCSE level or below.
This compares with a third (34%) of all people in the same age group, the study found.
The report also found one in eight (12%) school pupils aged 11 to 16 with poor mental health missed more than 15 days of school in the autumn term last year, compared to just one in 50 (0.02%) of their healthier classmates.
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‘Mental health banks’ plugging gaps
Meanwhile, children aged 11-14 with poor mental health are three times more likely not to pass five GCSEs including maths and English.
A third of young people with mental health problems and no degree are jobless, compared to 17% of graduates battling illness.
The study called for more support to be made available to sixth forms and colleges, and greater action to be taken to ensure fewer pupils leave compulsory education with low qualifications.
Economic consequences starkest for non-graduates
Senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, Louise Murphy, said: “Attention on this issue has tended to focus on higher education, but what should worry us is when poor mental health comes together with poor education outcomes.
“The economic consequences of poor mental health are starkest for young people who don’t go to university, with one in three young non-graduates with a common mental disorder currently workless.”
More help for people re-sitting exams is needed “so that everyone has qualifications to build on”, Ms Murphy added.
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Director of health at the Health Foundation, Jo Bibby, called on policymakers to focus on “the building blocks of health” such as good education and employment, to equip young people with the tools needed as adults.
“Without concerted cross-government action, we risk creating a ‘lost generation’ due to ill health,” she added.
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A government statement said its £2.5bn Back To Work plan aimed to help 1m people find jobs, including people with long-term health conditions and disabilities.
“This sets out tailored support to get more young people into work, with work coaches and youth hubs offering advice and guidance helping young people find a role right for them,” a spokesman said.
Ministers offered “record levels of support for mental health” totalling £16bn last year – including £1bn earmarked specifically for children and young people, they added.
Sky News can reveal that the government has rowed back on a national compensation scheme for victims of child sexual abuse, despite it being promised under the previous Conservative administration.
Warning – this story contains references to sexual and physical abuse
A National Redress Scheme was one of 20 key recommendations made by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), but a Home Office report reveals the government has scrapped it because of the cost.
Marie, who is 71, suffered alleged sexual, physical, and emotional abuse at Greenfield House Convent in St Helens, Merseyside, between 1959 and 1962, and is still fighting for compensation.
Greenfield House Convent, where Marie says she was abused
As soon as she arrived as a six-year-old, Marie says her hair was cut off, her name changed, and she experienced regular beatings from the nuns and students.
She claims a nun instigated the violence, including when Marie was held down so that her legs were “spread-eagled” as she was sexually abused with a coat hanger.
Merseyside Police investigated claims of abuse at the convent, but in 2016, a suspect died before charges could be brought.
Marie has received an apology from the Catholic body that ran the home; she tried to sue them, but her claim was rejected because it was filed too long after the alleged abuse.
Marie, 71, is still fighting for compensation for the abuse she says she suffered as a child
In February, ministers said the law would change for victims of sexual abuse trying to sue institutions for damages, which was a recommendation from the IICSA.
Previously, people had to make a civil claim before they were 21, unless the victim could prove a fair trial could proceed despite the time lapse.
Campaigners argued for the time limit to be removed as, on average, victims wait 26 years to come forward. Changes to the 1980 Limitation Act could lead to more people making claims.
Peter Garsden, President of The Association of Child Abuse Lawyers
Civil cases ‘can take three to five years’
But Peter Garsden, president of the Association of Child Abuse Lawyers, worries that when it comes to historical abuse where the defendant is dead, institutions will still argue that it is impossible to have a fair trial and will fight to have the case thrown out of court.
Mr Garsden said it takes “between three and five years” for a civil case to get to trial.
He warned that claimants “can end up losing if you go through that process. Whereas the Redress Scheme would be quicker, much more straightforward, and much more likely to give justice to the victims”.
Victim awarded £10 compensation
Jimbo, who was a victim of abuse at St Aidan’s children’s home in Cheshire, took his case to the High Court twice and the Court of Appeal three times, but, after 13 years, all he ended up with was £10 for his bus fare to court.
Despite the Lord Justice of Appeal saying he believed that the abuse had occurred, Jimbo lost his claim because of the time limit for child sexual abuse claims to be made.
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Neither Marie nor Jimbo is likely to benefit from the removal of the time limit for personal injury claims, which is why Mr Garsden is calling on the government to implement a National Redress Scheme for victims of sexual abuse, as recommended by the IICSA.
Hundreds of millions paid to victims
The governments in Scotland and Northern Ireland have set up compensation schemes and paid hundreds of millions of pounds to victims.
In 2023, the then Conservative government said a similar scheme would be organised for England and Wales.
But the Home Office admitted in its Tackling Child Sexual Abuse: Progress Update that it “is not currently taking forward any further steps on the IICSA proposal for a separate, national financial redress scheme for all survivors of child sexual abuse”.
“In the current fiscal environment, this recommendation is very difficult to take forward,” it added.
For victims, the scheme was the last chance of compensation for a lifetime blighted by abuse.
“The money is about justice and about all the other people who have had to suffer this abuse,” Marie said.
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