Focus

Work is essential for good health!

August 2005

The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched a new guide for safety and other trade union representatives, offering practical advice on long-term sickness absence and return to work issues. The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) in a new strategy for Workplace Health and Safety have recognised the need to strengthen the role of health and safety in getting people back to work.

HSE has published advice to help trade union officials to implement solutions to reduce sickness absence in the work place.

Each week one million workers take time off work because of sickness. Most return to work within days, however around 17 000 people are off work for longer. Almost one in five people who are off longer than 6 weeks leaves work permanently.

The guide outlines six key actions that union representatives can take, in partnership with employers, to reduce sickness absence and help sick employees to successfully return to work.

Actions trades union representatives can take with their employers include:

Helping to identify measures to improve worker health
Suggesting the development of workplace policies for managing sickness absence
Helping to keep workers who are off sick in contact with work
Helping to plan adjustments to enable return to work
Supporting and empowering sick workers to return to work
Helping to promote understanding of ill health and disability at work

Hugh Robertson, Head of Health and Safety at the TUC and an HSC member commented: "This clear, concise and sensible guide will be a very important weapon in the armoury of safety representatives. It will help union safety representatives show employers that taking a positive approach to managing sickness absence and supporting workers in getting back to work is in everyone's interest. Safety representatives will very much welcome this practical advice from the HSE."

Recent research for HSE has shown that consulting safety representatives on health and safety helps to improve working environments. Work is essential for good health and well-being and the longer people are off work, the less likely is their return the research concluded. The leaflet "Working together to prevent sickness absence becoming job loss" can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/web02.pdf

The leaflet offers practical advice for safety and trade union representatives.

HSE has published a range of materials to help with managing sickness absence and return to work:

HSG249 Managing sickness absence and return to work: An employers' and managers' guide (£9.95)
INDG397 Off work sick and worried about your job
INDG399 Managing sickness absence and return to work in small businesses

Copies of HSG249, INDG397 and 399 are available from HSE Books, PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 2WA, UK Tel: +44 (0) 1787-881165 Fax: +44 (0) 1787-313995.

How does your business measure up? Corporate Health and Safety Performance Indicator (CHaSPI) may help!

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched on the 20 July 2005 its Corporate Health and Safety Performance Indicator (CHaSPI) and unveiled a third round of case studies highlighting the vital role that directors play in health and safety.

Launching the index at the London Chamber of Commerce conference, Lord Hunt said:

"There are still too many accidents at work and too many staff off sick. We need to convince chief executives in boardrooms across the country that managing absence and health and safety makes good business sense. This tool will help businesses to manage and track their key health and safety indicators and will enable them to compare their performance against other businesses. The easier we make it for everyone, the better the chance we have of raising standards."

CHaSPI (the Corporate Health and Safety Performance Index) is a web-based tool to assist large organisations with over 250 employees (both public and private) to:

get a measure of the effectiveness of their internal controls over health and safety
to benchmark their performance against their own targets
the performance of their peers.

It works by asking a series of questions on, for example, health and safety management, occupational health risk management and sickness absence rates.

A score out of ten is then calculated. Overall results are made publicly available.

Using CHaSPI's is voluntary. The intention is that it's usefulness to organisations and their stakeholders is what will drive it forward - encouraging and helping organisations to improve their health and safety, going beyond the legal minimum.

Steve Waygood, director, investor responsibility Insight Investment, who collaborated on the development of CHaSPI said: "Insight will be making considered use of CHaSPI in our discussions with the directors of listed companies. As investors, we elect company directors to represent our interests. It is very much in our interests for these directors to maintain good occupational health and safety conditions for the workforce. Not only is this simply the right thing to do, but history has also shown that mistakes can lead to business interruptions that affect financial performance."

The nine case studies highlight the benefits that director leadership brings both to the health and safety of the employees and to the business. They are aimed not only at large organisations, but at small and medium sized enterprises (SME's) as well.

The case studies, compiled by risk management consultants Greenstreet Berman Ltd, are drawn from private companies and public bodies across a range of different sectors. Featured organisations are: Brymor Contractors Ltd, DCS Europe plc, Greencore Group, Joy Mining Machinery Ltd, London Ambulance Service, MTM Products Ltd, RW Green Limited, Sapporo Teppanyaki and TTE training.

The director leadership case studies build on the Health and Safety Commission's (HSC) guidance, Directors' responsibilities for Health and Safety, published in 2001 and the business benefits case studies published by HSC/E in 2004. While HSE's evidence shows a high degree of awareness of the HSC guidance among directors it is clear that around a third of organisations do not have board level arrangements in place for directing health and safety. HSC/E undertook to build on the guidance by providing accessible and persuasive case studies that bring home the benefits of director leadership.

The case studies being published supplement the director leadership case studies published by HSE in February and May 2005.

Helen Sissons, Group Technical Director of Greencore Group added, 'A clear and focused direction for health and safety, delivered by an enthusiastic team, has achieved a clear and measurable improvement in performance within the Greencore Group'.

CHaSPI can be found on the internet through HSE's website at www.hse.gov.uk

Research on the development of CHaSPI is available in Research Reports RR217 and RR335. A further report on this final phase will be made available in a few months time. Research Reports are available through HSE Books or can be found on HSE's website at www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrhtm/index.htm

The full text of the case studies on director leadership on health and safety are published and the previous case studies published in February and May 2005 can be accessed on the HSE web site at www.hse.gov.uk/business/casestudy.htm

HSE has also published a series of case studies that illustrate the business benefits of well-managed health and safety. These can also be accessed on the HSE web site at www.hse.gov.uk/business/sme-case-studies.htm

HSC guidance on directors' responsibilities for health and safety (INDG343) can be downloaded from the HSE web site - www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg343.pdf

Conference papers and documentation can be obtained by contacting: Alan Morley, Business Involvement Team, HSE | Tel : +44 (0)20 7717 6168 | Email: alan.morley@hse.gsi.gov.uk

EurOhse2005 conference: creating a winning OSH culture- time to book you place!

This conference has 14 eminent speakers and some of them are addressing the health of workers and also director's responsibilities and ways of improving performance. They are:

Healthy employee in a healthy organisation will be discussed by Dr Karl Kuhn, Chairman ENWHP - European Network for Workplace Health Promotion, Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Germany
David Eves CB will be looking at the costs of accidents and how to get senior directors involved in OSH
Richard Hopkins, President of the Employee Assistance European Forum (EAEF) will describe how Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) are providing innovative solutions to the challenge of building and maintaining employee well-being in European workplaces.
Jonathan Bendit, Sheiiba - The Safety, Health and Environment Intra Industry Benchmarking Association looking at "How to improve health and safety performance by learning from other companies "
Mike Welham, ex HSE Senior Inspector now with Total Control (Anglia) Ltd will talk on "Poacher turned Gamekeeper" - including corporate responsibilities.
Carole Spiers, Carole Spiers Group talking about "Get Well Soon - Managing attendance and return to work

The EurOhse2005 conference: creating a winning OSH culture, to be held on 30 November 2005 - 1 December 2005 at the Stratford Manor Hotel, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, UK.

Angel Business Publications and Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd are delighted to announce that EurOhse2005 conference will be held on 30 November 2005 - 1 December 2005 at the Stratford Manor Hotel, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, UK. This is the third year for this very popular, informative conference that keeps you up-to-date and provides excellent networking opportunities.

Chairmen for the two days will be Dr Peter Waterhouse, Robens Institute and Sheila Pantry OBE. EurOHSE 2005 conference will provide key points for future activities for all those responsible for securing good standards of health and safety in the workplace, and excellent networking opportunities.14 eminent speakers with backgrounds in government, inspectorates, industry, research and education will discuss a range of topics.

The programme will cover four main areas:

Global activities in Occupational Safety and Health in the Workplace
Creating a healthy workforce
The Reality of OSH in the workplace
The Future OSH World

The fourteen Speakers are:

Professor Charles Woolfson, Marie Curie Chair and EuroFaculty Professor, University of Latvia, Professor of Labour Studies, School of Law, University of Glasgow will give an Evaluation of the European Commission's Adapting to change in work and society: a new Community Strategy on health and safety at work 2002-2006: What has been achieved and what needs to be done; How are European Businesses dealing with demands and changes
Dr Thomas Jostmann, CEFIC Executive Director, will give a presentation on REACH - Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals
Dr Eusebio Rial-Gonzalez, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work will give an overview of the Agency's current and future activities and objectives, including the integration of the new Member States and the worldwide links, and also European Week 2005 "Stop that Noise" objectives.
Healthy employee in a healthy organisation will be discussed by Dr Karl Kuhn, Chairman ENWHP - European Network for Workplace Health Promotion, Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Germany
David Eves CB will be looking at the costs of accidents and how to get senior directors involved in OSH
Arnold Pindar, British Standards Institution will look at The role of Standards - New direction? What direction?
Richard Hopkins, President of the Employee Assistance European Forum (EAEF) will describe how Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) are providing innovative solutions to the challenge of building and maintaining employee well-being in European workplaces.
Jonathan Bendit, Sheiiba - The Safety, Health and Environment Intra Industry Benchmarking Association looking at "How to improve health and safety performance by learning from other companies
Mike Welham, ex HSE Senior Inspector now with Total Control (Anglia) Ltd will talk on "Poacher turned Gamekeeper" - including corporate responsibilities.
Carole Spiers, Carole Spiers Group talking about "Get Well Soon - Managing attendance and return to work"
Dr Luise Vassie, Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) will be discussing "Is Risk Assessment really working"
"Horizon scanning in OSH research" will be explained by Dr Peter Ellwood, HSE Health and Safety Laboratory, UK
Voluntary Protection Programme (VPP): Changing habits will be explained by Eamonn O'Sullivan, Health and Safety Authority, Ireland
Sarah Hamilton will look at the worldwide networking of OSH professionals including APOSHO, ENSPHO, INSHPO etc

This is the major conference of 2005! Bookings are coming in fast ... Make sure that you have a place and make your reservation now!

EurOhse2005 One-day Masterclass on Fire Risk Assessment and Business Continuity Planning and Management, 29 November 2005, Stratford-on-Avon

This One-day Masterclass on Fire Risk Assessment and Business Continuity Planning and Management is to be presented on Monday, 29 November 2005 at the Stratford Manor Hotel, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, UK by Les Moseley - Director of the Coventry Centre for Disaster Management and Programme Manager - University of Coventry, UK and Dennis Davies CBE, OStJ, QFSM, CEng, CCMI, FIFireE(Life), MEI - Independent Fire Adviser - International Committee for the Prevention and Extinction of Fire (CTIF) and formerly HM Chief Inspector of Fire Services, Scotland.

The Masterclass aims to build on existing knowledge and skills in Risk and Hazard Analysis for Fire Risk Assessment and develop further knowledge in Continuity Planning.

Both the EurOhse2005 conference and the Masterclass are organised by Angel Business Communications Ltd and Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd.

Why not book both the Masterclass and the EurOhse2005 conference?

For further details contact the programme organiser Sheila Pantry | Tel: +44 (0) 1909 771024 | email: sp@sheilapantry.com

For further details regarding bookings contact: EurOhse 2005 and Masterclass, Jesse Bhadal, Conference Manager, Angel Business Communications Ltd, 34 Warwick Road, Kenilworth CV8 1HE, Warwickshire, UK | Tel: +44 (0) 1926 512424 | Fax: +44 (0) 1926 512948 | Email: jesse@angel.co.uk | www.eurohse2005.com for full details, booking form, location etc.