New Kit for Employers to Deal With Workers’ Musculoskeletal Health Issues
Business in the Community (BITC) has created the ‘Working Joints and Muscles Toolkit’ to help employers address the musculoskeletal health issues of their staff more effectively.
The kit, designed with expert advice from industry bigwigs like Birds Eye, Centrica, HSE, Land Registry, Parcelforce and the Work Foundation, may provide bosses with the much-needed assistance in dealing with musculoskeletal problems, which are the most common causes of ill heath amongst the working population of
According to 2007-08 statistics released by Health and Safety Executive (HSE), musculoskeletal ailments lead to an annual loss of 8.8 million working days, as ailing employees do not come to office. This translates into over a quarter of all working days wasted due to work-related sickness.
The toolkit not only consists of research and case studies looking into how musculoskeletal health problems affect businesses but also spells out possible actions that may be taken to minimise losses. It lists a 12-step strategy for framing, introducing and reviewing a musculoskeletal health policy. Even the small and medium sized businesses have been advised on how to deal with the situation in a way that minimises risk for both the affected employees and the company.
Employees’ health has been assigned an important place, as bosses have been asked to spread awareness about maintaining a healthy musculoskeletal system. The kit also lays down ways to increase a person’s ability to preserve his/her musculoskeletal health and suggests ways on how to make rehabilitation and return to work of the affected staff easier.
Employers need to be aware of important health and safety issues and current regulations that apply in the workplace. The IOSH working safely programme can be tailored to meet the needs of an individual organisation; click for information on IOSH courses from the experts at Workplace Law Training.
