Chronic Health Conditions

Chronic Health Conditions

By Croner-i

Published 29 November 2025

A chronic or long-term health condition or illness is one for which there is no cure but which can usually be managed with medication and therapy, such as asthma, mental illness, arthritis, diabetes or heart disease. In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 states that some conditions, which adversely affect someone’s ability to carry out his or her normal day-to-day activities, are defined as disabilities, and as such place duties on the employer to make reasonable adjustments that allow that person to stay in work. While they are not usually work related, chronic conditions often impact on the needs of the employee at work.

Over 7.7 million people of working age in the UK are disabled or have a health condition. Historically there has been a significant gap between the proportion of disabled people employed compared with non-disabled people. The Government had a long-term ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate for disabled people — in 2024 this rate was at 53%, in comparison to 81.6% for non-disabled people.

‍

Read the full article Chronic Health Conditions - iOH - The Association of Occupational Health and Wellbeing Professionals