CLEANING & HYGIENE
PUTTING HYGIENE BACK ON THE AGENDA
While health and safety protocols drive workplace decisions across industries, hygiene often slips down the priority list. This oversight is costly and hygiene must be central in every health and safety strategy, explains Joanne Gilliard, CEO of Jangro,
The Health and Safety at Work etc. 1974 Act (HSWA) is the UK’s primary workplace safety legislation. While it doesn’t detail hygiene specifically, the Act places a clear duty on employers to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their employees. That duty cannot be achieved without clean and hygienic working conditions.
This responsibility has never been more pressing. In early 2025, around 2.8 million people were economically inactive due to long-term sickness, up from two million in 2019. This rising trend underscores the importance of integrating hygiene and workplace wellbeing into effective health and safety strategies.
In industries such as construction, the focus often falls on visible risks like slips, trips, and falls, while neglecting the less visible but equally damaging risks of poor hygiene. Hygiene is not only about compliance; it’s a frontline defence against illness, safeguarding workforce health and wellbeing, as well as business continuity.
THE IMPACT OF POOR HYGIENE IN WORKPLACES
Poor hygiene in workplaces can have far-reaching consequences beyond immediate health risks. It contributes directly to illness and absenteeism, leading to lost working days and reduced productivity.
“BY EMBEDDING HYGIENE INTO EVERYDAY OPERATIONS, BUSINESSES PROTECT THEIR PEOPLE AND STRENGTHEN LONG- TERM PERFORMANCE.”
According to new research by employee benefits and protection provider MetLife UK, long-term sick leave is now costing employers an average of £20,735 per employee. In sectors such as construction or manufacturing, where tight schedules and margins are common, even small increases in sickness absence can cause significant project delays and costs. Investing in preventive hygiene as a health and safety measure is comparatively low-cost, but the returns of fewer absences, improved resilience, and stronger performance are substantial.
At the same time, hygiene is a matter of worker welfare. The NHS reported that good hygiene contributes to a more positive and supportive work environment, positively impacting employee morale and wellbeing. This is not a surprise, as providing clean facilities, safe food handling areas, and contamination-free workplaces
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