Just one quarter of people in employment prior to successfully claiming Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) had returned to work 18 months later, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has found.
The results showed half (49%) the people claiming had a condition which commenced in the last two years (2008//09) and that an early recovery and people's overall health beliefs were a key factor in completing a return to work, it added.
However, it revealed work-based support was valuable to employees as those who had received occupational health (OH) help prior to claiming had been able to work longer.
The statistics illustrated how unlikely it is for people to fully return to work once they have begun claiming state benefits, and were even lower for those not previously in employment.
Here only 9% of those who were not in employment prior to claiming had a job 18 months later.
The DWP conducted two surveys for it Routes on to ESA study.
Firstly 3,650 people when making their initial claim and then of 1,842 who had agreed to be contacted to assess their progress.
Around half (51%) of people claiming ESA were in paid work immediately before claiming.
People who were employed prior to claiming were older, and the vast majority (85%) had been in employment for most of their working lives.
Mental health conditions (more common among women and younger people) and musculoskeletal conditions (men and older people) were the mostly frequently reported health conditions for ESA claimants.
It also revealed that two-thirds (66%) of ESA claimants have multiple conditions and half (53%) fluctuating conditions.
Women who were in work prior to claiming were more likely to have a mental health condition and men a musculoskeletal condition.
Over one quarter (27%) of health conditions were attributed to work and men were more likely than women to identify their condition as work related.
People who had been in work before claiming ESA had overwhelmingly been in employment in the private sector, on a permanent contract, however, around 19% of men had been in temporary work.
Overall, just under a quarter of people who had been in employment prior to their claim reported access to OH at work.
However, significant differences in availability meant OH was most accessible for public sector workers or those in larger private firms.
More than three-quarters of claimants who had access to OH at work had used the service (77%), and one-fifth (21%) had changes made to their work as a result.
These were most often changes to hours and duties.
Almost three-quarters (72%) of people who had changes to their work believed they had helped them to stay in work for longer.
Two thirds (63%) of people in work had discussed their condition with their line manager and 27% had discussed it with their Human Resources manager.
But mental health conditions were discussed less frequently than other conditions.
