NEWS
MORE NEEDED ON RETURN-TO-WORK PLAN
The UK Government needs to go deeper into the root cause of increases in long-term sickness and set out how it proposes to manage it, according to the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).
Responding to the Spring Budget, announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on Wednesday 15 March, IOSH said there are a lot of unanswered questions.
Among the key areas in the Budget were getting older people and those on long-term sick back to work. There are also set to be higher taxes for businesses, with IOSH urging bosses to ensure they don’t cut back on health and safety measures in response.
Ruth Wilkinson, IOSH’s Head of Policy, said: “It’s all well and good saying we want people to return to work and offering incentives for this. You cannot expect older people or those who have been on sick long-term to just turn up at work. Many of them have specific requirements in the workplace to enable them to do their jobs, not just effectively but safely and healthily.
“What we need are improvements in levels of awareness regarding issues of disability and illness and clear strategies and policies to show how this is going to be managed and how businesses will support people. This can only be done by prioritising a more robust system for employers to accommodate individual needs.
STRATHCLYDE LAUNCHES CENTRE FOR OSH
A new centre for education, research and professional development in health and safety is to be launched by the University of Strathclyde.
Strathclyde Centre for Occupational Safety and Health (SCOSH) has been established to support the increasing demand for high-quality management of occupational health and safety. It has partly been given impetus by a shift in how business leaders think about employees’ physical and mental health, since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Centre builds on a strong learning legacy, including the market-leading Certificate in Professional Development and Radiation Protection. One of its first initiatives is a new series of introductory level courses in Health and Safety Risk Management – funded by the Scottish Funding Council – starting in 2023.
The Centre will also bring together a university-wide network of academics engaged in work relating to occupational health and safety. This collaborative approach will drive the development of research, teaching and knowledge exchange, leading to unrivalled learning opportunities for those with an interest or responsibility for health and safety.
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Strathclyde is already the largest provider of postgraduate safety-related education in the UK.
Callum MacDonald, Head of SCOSH, said: “The team involved with SCOSH have been delivering online and blended learning relating to health, safety and risk management for approximately 20 years. Through this large, expert group of professional practitioners, SCOSH will deliver learning that is immediately useable in the workplace.
“In addition to defined courses such as the postgraduate programme, SCOSH will also offer shorter term consultancy and training.”
SCOSH will be officially launched at an event on Thursday 4 May, during the annual Engage with Strathclyde Week. Guest speakers are to include Iain Brodie, the Health and Safety Executive’s Director for Scotland / Deputy Director, Field Operations Division, who will provide details on the Executive’s 10-year strategy.
The free event, at Strathclyde’s Technology and Innovation Centre, will run from 8am – 10am. Registration can be made here.
www.strath.ac.uk www.tomorrowshs.com
https://www.engage.strath.ac.uk/event/1009
“Good, well-managed work is vital for people’s health and wellbeing. For work to be good, it must be safe, healthy, supportive and accommodate people’s needs. We are calling on the government to go deeper into the root cause of the increase in long-term sickness by setting out how it proposes this can be prevented and managed and for businesses to consider some key questions, including how they might offer appropriate support, reasonable adjustments, rehabilitation and return to work programmes for employees.”
Referring to the rise in corporation tax, Ruth added that it’s crucial businesses continue to prioritise health and safety.
She said: “Many businesses are feeling the squeeze and are likely to be hit further in the pocket by the corporation tax rise, meaning they may need to make savings elsewhere.
“One area they must not make any savings is in occupational health and safety. In fact, this provides an opportunity for businesses to review their health and safety policies and to ask themselves if they are doing all they can to protect working people and others who can be impacted by their work.
“Health and safety is not a cost; it’s an investment into people and the sustainable and successful future of a business. And, most of important of all, it saves lives.”
https://iosh.com
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