Responding to the King’s Speech last month, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) welcomed plans to strengthen workers’ rights and urged a “greater focus more generally on looking after people at work.”
IOSH’s Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Ruth Wilkinson, penned a blog post following the King’s Speech in the House of Lords on Wednesday 17th July.
The speech laid out the key priorities and plans of the new UK government, which included a new Employment Rights Bill.
In her post, Ruth described this announcement as “music to my ears,” as IOSH has long been campaigning for a happier, healthier and more balanced world of work for the benefit of all workers and businesses. She said the move would “provide hope and reassurance for many millions of people.”
As the government looks to deliver on it’s so-called ‘New Deal for Working People’, Ruth explained why IOSH is so pleased to see these priorities identified by those in power:
“A ban on zero-hours contracts is long overdue. Such contracts make workers increasingly vulnerable in terms of their physical and mental health, as they add a huge degree of uncertainty around the duration of employment and unpredictable working hours.
“Meanwhile, improvements to statutory sick pay will go a long way to preventing people from returning to work too soon, which can also contribute to long-term impacts on their health.”
Indeed, IOSH has long warned of the rise of “presenteeism” – a phenomenon which sees employees coming to work when they are not really well enough in order to be “seen” and maintain a positive standing in the workplace. Often though, mental or physical health struggles can mean these workers are not able to work to the best of their ability, impacting productivity and staff morale.
Health and safety at work the ‘best recipe’ for economic recovery
Ruth also explained that there is more work to do when it comes to health and safety at work, adding:
“We are keen to see a greater focus more generally on looking after people at work, making organisations accountable on their human rights obligations, tackling insecure work, advancing flexible working, strengthening safety standards and improving health and wellbeing in the workplace. This is the best recipe for boosting productivity and sustained economic growth.”
When the results of the UK General Election became clear last month, IOSH voiced a hope that the “urgent work,” that Sir Keir Starmer said his party had to do would include preventing harm and protecting workers and their rights.
Ruth Wilkinson wrote at the time that focusing on good health and safety at work would enable the new Labour government to achieve its key goals by protecting people and boosting “their motivation and performance, thereby contributing to the economy and helping to support the NHS along the way.”
Quoting the latest HSE figures, she highlighted the fact that 138 people were killed at work last year, while over half a million were injured in workplace accidents in 2022-23, and nearly 2 million experienced work-related ill-health.
Unsafe work has widespread costs
Workplace injuries and work-related ill-health cost the UK economy an estimated £20.7 billion in 2021-22, but there is also a major human cost to poor health and safety at work.
Thousands of lives are forever changed by the hundreds of tragic work-related fatalities each year, while millions more lives are negatively impacted by workplace injuries and work-related ill-health and diseases. Mental health is also a huge issue which is often significantly affected by the workplace.
Ruth explains:
“In addition to the personal worker impacts and the impacts to the employer, it may also mean more people seeking diagnosis and treatment through the NHS, thereby further inflating waiting times.
“This demonstrates the strong need to approach occupational hazards and risks with a prevention-first approach.”
During the election campaign, IOSH published its own manifesto for a safer, healthier and happier world of work. It included five calls to action for the government to help boost health and safety at work and, in turn, stabilise the economy and support the NHS. These were:
- Protect workers’ rights to safe, healthy and decent work
- Strengthen and expand the UK’s world-leading system that prevents harm at work
- Support businesses to tackle new and emerging workplace hazards
- Promote a diverse, inclusive, skilled and motivated workforce
- Build a more robust, sustainable economy
In their manifesto, IOSH suggests a number of measures that would help the new government deliver on these calls. They include sufficient resources and funding for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Good health and safety at work can ‘unlock the door’ to multiple benefits
In her blog post following the general election last month, Ruth acknowledged that organisations across all sectors would have their own priorities they want the government to focus on, but she argued that “few can unlock the door to as many benefits as focusing on workers’ safety, health and wellbeing.”
The world-leading professional health and safety body said it would seek to engage with the new government to demonstrate the value of good health and safety at work and support them in finding solutions for the many issues they must tackle.
Quality health and safety training for every sector
First Response Training (FRT) is one of the UK’s largest and leading national training providers.
They deliver a wide and diverse range of training for businesses and organisations across all industry sectors and throughout the UK. Their course range includes training in the fields of health and safety, first aid, fire safety, manual handling, mental health, food safety, health and social care and more.
Their health and safety training is mapped to UK standards and legislation and follows HSE guidelines. The portfolio includes courses such as Health and Safety, Managing Health and Safety, Risk Assessment, Accident and Incident Investigation, Working at Height, Asbestos Awareness and many more.
An accredited Mindful Employer themselves, FRT’s specialist mental health training courses include Understanding Mental Health, Mental Health Awareness in the Workplace, Managing Stress, Anxiety and Phobias Awareness, Self-Harm Awareness and Suicide Awareness.
They can also provide qualified, approved trainers to deliver accredited Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training courses, including the Adult, Youth and Lite versions.
A trainer from FRT says:
“We believe in creating safer working environments with people who care. This is our vision and central to our services. It means providing training that helps to protect people’s physical and mental health, safety and welfare.
“Any life lost at work is obviously one too many, and non-fatal injuries can also have significant, life-altering impacts on workers. Additionally, while stress is not recognised as a diagnosable mental health condition, it can lead to more serious mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, and can also have physiological effects.
“It’s important to recognise the severity of stress and to learn proactive and positive ways for managing, minimising and preventing stress, both in the workplace and in our personal lives and to ensure that we regularly undergo essential training in health, safety and welfare across all organisations and industries. This not only safeguards workers’ health and safety, but protects businesses and helps support the economy and NHS.”
For more information on the training that FRT can provide, please call them today on freephone 0800 310 2300 or send an e-mail to info@firstresponsetraining.com.