News release
26 May 2010 - NR 24/10
Professional body urges broader view on
return-to-work Bill
A leading health and safety body has issued
a word of caution over the coalition government’s new Welfare
Reform Bill, announced in yesterday’s Queen’s Speech.
While the new Bill seeks to help people back
to work by bringing in a ‘single welfare-to-work regime’, the
Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has emphasised
that the right support measures must be put in place to ensure
those returning to work from Incapacity Benefit do so safely and
sustainably.
In Great Britain, in 2008/09, 24.6 million
working days were lost through work related ill-health and 1.2
million workers suffered an illness they put down to work. In its
manifesto, ‘Creating a healthier UK
plc’, IOSH highlights our ageing population and the drive for a
more inclusive workforce, where people are not excluded simply
because they’re not 100 per cent fit.
“There’s evidence that ‘good work’ is good
for people’s health and wellbeing and also that positive
perceptions about work are linked to higher productivity,
profitability and staff retention,” said IOSH Policy &
Technical Director Richard Jones.
“IOSH believes rehabilitation and the
promotion of health and well-being at work needs to become the
norm. As a nation, we need to make sure that everyone understands
how to protect and improve health, and emphasise the message that
‘worker-friendly’ workplaces are productive and benefit everyone,”
he added.
But to make returns to work sustainable, IOSH
believes other changes are needed:
- A multidisciplinary approach, making more use
of trained health and safety professionals
- Better access to high quality occupational
health services
- Improved management to prevent illness /
injury and promote health and wellbeing at work
- More support to help workers with health
problems stay at or return-to-work
- Tax-relief for certain employer-provided
therapies for non-work injury / illness (e.g. physiotherapy)
- Increased availability of cognitive
behavioural therapy and less stigma about mental health
problems
- Embedding of health and safety in the
education system (doctors, teachers, managers, school leavers,
etc.), to create a ‘risk intelligent’ society
- Free workplace advisory visits are made
available for small businesses in England, as well as in Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland where they are already available
IOSH also believes that trained safety and
health practitioners, with their skills and knowledge of the
workplace, can add value to the medical expertise of the
occupational health professionals. By combining these specialisms,
maximum benefit can be brought to the improvement of health in the
workplace.
“There are large numbers of safety and health
practitioners; they already have basic occupational health
knowledge; and they are well-established in the workplace,” said
Richard Jones.
“With a little additional training they
could, for example, act as workplace advocates; play a role in
educating managers, communicating policies and services and
promoting health messages; and they could help spot the early signs
of problems, ensuring earlier interventions and referrals,” he
added.
Notes to editors
- IOSH, with support from the Department for Work and Pensions,
is piloting a free course for a group of its 37,000 members who
want to develop skills in occupational health support and
rehabilitation. The course helps implement one of the
recommendations from Dame Carol Black’s review of the health of
Britain’s working age population.
- The pilot’s stakeholder steering group includes Dame Carol, Dr.
Bill Gunnyeon and representatives from the Royal College of
Nursing, Society of Medicine, Association of occupational health
nurse practitioners (AOHNP) and the Institute of Ergonomics and
Human Factors (formerly the Ergonomics Society).
- Ends -
Notes for editors:
IOSH is the Chartered body for health and safety professionals.
With more than 40,000 members in 85 countries, we’re the world’s
biggest professional health and safety organisation.
We set standards, and support, develop and connect our members
with resources, guidance, events and training. We’re the voice of
the profession, and campaign on issues that affect millions of
working people.
IOSH was founded in 1945 and is a registered charity with
international NGO status.
Media enquiries
For more information please contact:
- Tim Walsh, Media
Manager, +44 (0)116 257 3252 or +44 (0)797 660 4715
- Amy Chappell,
Media Officer, +44 (0)116 257 3141 or +44 (0)798 000 4494
- Ruth Davies, Media
Officer, +44 (0)116 257 3139 or +44 (0)798 000 4474.