Public Health England Publish New Document – ‘Health Matters: Health and Work’

Public Health England has recently published its latest report on health in the workplace, which highlights the importance of maintaining the mental and physical health of all employees. According to the report, employment can impact both directly and indirectly on an individual, their families and the communities in which they live. In the UK, 131 million working days are lost to sickness absence each year, for reasons such as minor illness, musculoskeletal problems or stress, depression and anxiety.  Therefore, the ability to work and stay in employment are important public health issues, both at local and national level.

The report highlights that the combined costs from worklessness and sickness absence amount to approximately £100 billion annually. The report includes toolkits and informative data relating to removing health-related barriers and retaining people in employment.

Furthermore, the document includes a call to action to all employers to ensure that the health and wellbeing of their workforce is being taken into consideration, regardless of the size of their organisation. Creating healthy workplaces should include supporting people with disabilities or long-term health conditions, as well as those who do not have existing health conditions to ensure that all aspects of an employee’s physical and mental health are supported.

A full copy of this publication can be found here.

S₂ Partnership provides bespoke, practical advice and training to clients across a range of sectors, to ensure specific risks are identified, managed and reduced to maintain a healthy workplace; safeguarding the health and wellbeing of employees whilst also reducing business risks and costs.

To find out more on how the S₂ Partnership can help please contact our experienced team – we’re happy to help.