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Under the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act employers have
a duty to take reasonable care to ensure the safety, health and
welfare of their employees. Enabling regulations, such as The Control
of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, have followed the
Act, specifying actions that employers must take to ensure safety.
Occupational Disease and Accidents
It makes sense to ensure that your employees work in safety. Absenteeism
due to occupational disease or accident is very costly, and occupational
disease and accidents leave the employer open to both criminal and
civil prosecution.
Sickness Absenteeism
In the UK approximately 8.4 days per staff-year are lost through
sickness absenteeism. It has been calculated that absenteeism costs
the employer £500 per employee per year - that is all employees,
not just those who have been absent! Employees who have had
spells off work of more than 20 days account for more than half
of the total number lost days. An Occupational Health Service can
help you to provide a safe environment for your employees and can
reduce sickness absenteeism by identifying problem areas and by
helping people get back to work earlier.
How much will an Occupational Health service cost?
The cost depends entirely on the number of services that we provide
and the number of employees that you have. We will provide you with
an estimate of the cost at a very early stage. If you are interested
in our services please contact us and we will be pleased to make
an appointment to see you.
Occupational Health Activities
Here are examples of the services that we can provide for your
company:
- Risk Assessment - We can visit your workplace and carry
out a full assessment of the risks of occupational disease or
injury to your employees. The risks include risk of slips, trips
and falls, exposure to chemicals and noise, and musculo-skeletal
problems resulting from awkward working positions or incorrect
handling. The risks are quantified and you will be advised on
the action you need to take for the well being of your workforce
and to comply with the law.
- Health Surveillance - If your employees are exposed to
any hazards we will advise you on suitable health surveillance
so that you can ensure that the exposure is not causing them harm.
Often a suitably trained responsible person or a nurse can carry
out the surveillance.
- Sickness Absenteeism - We can analyse your sickness absenteeism
records for trends of absenteeism, and if trends are present we
can advise you appropriately. We can also advise you on return
to work policies and rehabilitation. Medical examinations or interviews
after return to work can ensure that the employee is coping and
can highlight areas where change to the working environment or
practice might be of benefit.
- Pre-employment Medical Assessments - can be useful for
checking that an individual is fit for the work he or she is to
do. They can also be helpful in tailoring the workplace to any
medical problems that an employee has. The assessments are often
simply questionnaires that we can help you to design. We can provide
more in depth assessment should the questionnaires reveal any
potential problems.
- Statutory Medical Examinations - for example HGV licence
medicals
- Health Screening - We can arrange to screen your workforce
for conditions such as Hypertension (high blood pressure), Hypercholesterolaemia
(high cholesterol) and diabetes. We can also do heart attack and
stroke risk assessments - see our page
on these assessments. In order to minimise disruption to your
workplace, will carry out the screening on site (provided that
you have a suitable room).
- Health Promotion - The workplace is increasingly seen
to be a good place to promote a healthy lifestyle. We can either
provide health promotion sessions for your employees, or we can
help you set up your own system. If you are interested in any
of the above, please contact us in order to discuss your requirements.
If you are interested in
any of the above, please contact
us to discuss your requirements.
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