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Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation
The facts
- We know that 'good
work' is good for health and wellbeing. Among other things,
this means work that's safe, supportive and accommodates people's
needs. We also know from a
review that positive perceptions about work are linked with
higher productivity, profitability and staff retention.
- The aim of rehabilitation is to help employees who are absent
as a result of illness or disability to return to work or allow
those with chronic health conditions to remain in work. It
involves a range of measures from medical intervention to workplace
adjustments.
- It makes business
sense for organisations to support rehabilitation, as otherwise
they risk losing the skills of valuable employees, lower
productivity and the cost of maintaining employees on sick pay and
of temporary replacements.
- As an employer, you also need to comply with employment,
disability
and age discrimination law and may want to reduce the likelihood of
civil claims and associated reputation damage should an absence be
due to work-related accident or ill health.
-
Research has highlighted the benefits of work in providing the
economic stability, social networking and self esteem that are
important for individuals' physical and mental wellbeing.
- Unmanaged long-term absence, possibly leading to avoidable ill
health retirement, can be costly for the employee, the employer and
society as a whole.
- A
properly managed rehabilitation and return to work programme
can reduce pain and suffering, minimise or eliminate long-term
disability, and help people return to work quickly and safely.
Our position
- IOSH believes health protection and promotion are key and that
rehabilitation policies should be part of a wider employer strategy
on employee health, safety and wellbeing.
- We advocate a holistic, proactive approach to managing health
and rehabilitation issues at work. Everyone should work
together - workers, managers, general practitioners, human
resources and health and safety professionals - to:
- tackle the causes of workplace injury and ill health
- address the impact of health on employees' capacity to work,
providing support for those with disabilities and health conditions
and rehabilitation
- promote healthier lifestyles and wellbeing to help improve the
general health of the workforce.
- We think recovery and long-term management of health conditions
at work should be helped through a variety of proactive
interventions such as manager education, in-house support groups,
flexible working and access to appropriate therapies
- We're currently piloting a course titled 'Proactive
intervention in occupational health support', in co-operation with
the Department for Work and Pensions, to enable health and safety
professionals to play an increased role in workplace health issues
and facilitating and supporting safe and sustainable
rehabilitation.
- We also believe that where employers can help workers get
certain therapies needed to stay in, or return to, work; tax relief
should be available.
- And, in England and Northern Ireland, equivalents to Healthy
Working Lives Scotland and Workboost Wales should be provided,
giving small businesses free access to workplace visits and
advice.
- In the IOSH campaign 'Back to
health, back to work' and our manifesto 'Creating a
healthier UK plc', we set out the challenge of getting
better health through better work, advocating improved management
to prevent illness / injury and more support to help workers with
health problems, stay at, or return to work.
Relevant IOSH consultations responses