Employers can't fill vacancies, but many do surprisingly little to help workers return after a long illness
- Written by Stephen Bevan, Head of HR Research Development, Institute for Employment Studies, Lancaster University

The UK was supposed to be facing a spike in unemployment after the pandemic furlough schemes ended, but instead the job market is the tightest in a generation. Given that there are also more vacancies than active job seekers and many sectors are struggling with skill shortages, you might...