The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has launched a new campaign to highlight the issue of ‘small print’ in workers’ contracts, after their recent survey revealed an “epidemic” of unpaid work could be risking worker health and safety.
The world’s largest occupational safety and health (OSH) body says that half of the UK’s workers regularly work two or more additional hours without pay every week, with many of them putting in an hour or more of unpaid work each day.
IOSH surveyed 1,000 workers from across a range of sectors and job roles and found that an “always-on” culture has taken hold in UK workplaces, risking worker health and wellbeing.
The survey, conducted by YouGov on IOSH’s behalf, found:
- 50% of workers regularly do 2 or more unpaid hours’ work each week, with 4 in 10 workers regularly working for 1 or more unpaid hours each day
- Almost a quarter (24%) regularly work more than 48 hours per week on average (the legal maximum people should work in the UK)
- More than half of workers (57%) have worked despite feeling too ill to do so in the past 12 months
- 44% of respondents said that working over your contracted hours is part of their workplace culture
- More than half (52%) report regularly checking work emails and messages outside of working hours
- 39% check and respond to work messages while on annual leave
- This is despite the fact that 9 in 10 respondents believe that workers should have the right to “switch off” from work outside their contracted hours
Job ‘small print’ risking worker health and safety
The data has led IOSH to raise concerns about the ‘small print’ of job contracts and business rules, and the expectations embedded in workplace cultures, such as skipping lunchbreaks, working late and replying to emails late at night or over the weekend.
In a press release, Marcus Boocock, PR and Public Affairs Manager at IOSH, says these expectations can pose risks to worker health and safety “if the work provided is not ‘good work’ – work that is safe, health, sustainable and accommodates people’s needs.”
In fact, long working hours are associated with a range of health problems, including:
- Aches and pains – long periods of sitting at a desk can lead to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) such as neck and back pain and joint issues. Figures even suggest you are 38% more likely to die prematurely if you sit for over 12 hours a day. Meanwhile, prolonged screen time can also lead to eye strain and headaches.
- Stress and anxiety – a heavy workload, intense work pressures and a poor work/life balance are associated with high levels of stress and mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. In fact, one of the biggest causes of work-related ill-health in the UK is stress, depression and anxiety. Poor mental health costs UK employers £51 billion a year.
- Occupational ill-health – some jobs have been shown to carry a higher cancer risk. For example, people whose work means they could be exposed to asbestos, silica dust or UV rays from the sun are at higher risk. Around 4% of UK cancer diagnoses are linked to work-related exposures.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Labour Organization (ILO) estimate that long working hours contributed to 745,000 deaths from stroke and ischemic heart disease in 2016, a 29% increase from 2000.
Right to switch-off would boost worker health and productivity
IOSH therefore believes that the right to switch off and a curb on long working hours and unpaid work could help significantly improve worker health, safety and wellbeing as well as boosting their productivity.
As the government prepares to launch its new Employment Rights Bill, IOSH has called for action now to help protect workers. They point to other European countries, where the ‘right to disconnect’ from work outside contracted hours is already in force.
Head of Policy and Public Affairs at IOSH, Ruth Wilkinson, says:
“As the world of work transforms, we must keep the safety, health and wellbeing of workers high on everyone’s list of priorities, embedded into core business practice and culture if enterprise, economies and societies are to thrive.”
Wilkinson questions how many workers take notice of the ‘small print’ within their employment contracts, which can highlight key matters and unfavourable conditions.
She adds:
“Within this ‘small print’, issues can often be hidden, such as culture of working long hours or the belief you must be available outside your working hours. The term ‘never off duty’ is often thrown around but for many, it’s a reality.
“This cannot continue. Our survey results show there is an epidemic of people working long hours – often without pay – and with people working while ill or on holiday. This is of great concern. In 2021, a World Health Organisation (WHO) and International Labour Organisation (ILO) global analysis found that working long hours is now known to be responsible for about one third of the total estimated work-related burden of disease.
“We already know that the UK has economically inactive workers and workers being on long-term sick leave. If we stand by and ignore this, then it could get worse. That is why we’re calling for action, to ensure there is greater awareness and transparency and for more focus to be put on looking after people’s health, safety and wellbeing at work.”
IOSH is calling on the government to review and update regulatory frameworks relating to occupational health and safety to take into account new ways of working, such as hybrid and flexible working arrangements.
They want a greater awareness among employers of where and how harm can occur, with transparency over how these risks to worker health and safety are being mitigated and addressed within employment contracts.
Six recommendations to protect worker health and wellbeing
To help free work from the small print, the professional body has 6 recommendations for government to ensure worker health, safety and wellbeing within positive workplace cultures. These align with calls to action included in their General Election manifesto and are:
- Provide a safe and healthy working environment as a basic right for everyone, irrespective of their employment status, including non-permanent workers and those in supply chains. This should include endorsing and fully implementing related international OSH conventions.
- Ensure all non-permanent ‘gig’ workers can receive compensation for work accidents and occupational diseases. They should have rights to good working conditions, a minimum wage, working time protection and collective bargaining, including union representation.
- Support the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to carry out its role and help businesses prevent harm through increased staffing and funding to enable better guidance, more inspections and effective enforcement across its wider regulatory remit.
- Invest in strong occupational health systems. This includes equipping SMEs with the resources they need to invest in prevention and early intervention around occupational health, including worker mental health.
- Equip workers with the necessary health and safety awareness, knowledge and skills to enable them to be build positive and proactive workplace safety cultures.
- Review and, where necessary, update laws and regulations to ensure that emerging and evolving health and safety hazards and risks are addressed.
The ‘Work free from small print’ campaign website also outlines how individuals can get involved and support IOSH’s campaign for safe and healthy workplace cultures.
Last year, after the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) annual statistics revealed that half of all cases of work-related ill-health in Great Britain in 2022-23 were due to workplace mental health problems, IOSH reiterated its belief that a people-focused work culture is key to reducing and preventing such problems.
Training to support a positive workplace health and safety culture
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 worker health, safety and welfare. This includes their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.
“Long working hours and a culture of being ‘always-on’ and always contactable, whether it’s the evening, weekend or a holiday, can lead to employee burnout and high levels of stress. While stress itself 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 in the workplace and to learn proactive and positive ways for managing, minimising and preventing stress and to ensure that we regularly undergo essential training in health, safety and welfare across all organisations and industries.
“Organisations also need to work on developing positive workplace health and safety cultures that value workers’ wellbeing and promote a good work-life balance which is sustainable long-term.”
Helpful resources
A brief summary of our mental health training can now be downloaded as an infographic.
We also have a number of other free infographics available to download which provide simple tips for helping to manage your mental and emotional wellbeing and proactively manage your stress levels. These include:
You can also download our free Guide to Mental Health Training from our website.
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.