UK businesses will be urged to tackle in-work sickness and stop people from falling out the workforce, following the appointment of Dame Carol Black as the government’s new occupational health tsar.
Black, an experienced health policy adviser, will lead a new taskforce to improve employer awareness of the benefits of occupational health in the workplace as part of the government’s drive to tackle in-work sicknesses and help grow the economy.
Dame Carol who has decades of experience in medicine and policy advisory while having chaired multiple government reviews, will head up a taskforce that will produce a voluntary occupational health framework for businesses.
The framework will include setting out the minimum levels of occupational health needed to stop sickness-related job losses, and to help businesses better support those returning to work after a period of ill-health.
The framework – expected this summer – will form part of the government’s drive to reduce inactivity levels and waiting list times.
The taskforce’s launch coincides with the £64m pilot of a new WorkWell service getting underway, which will help 60,000 people with health conditions stay and succeed in work through integrated employment and health support.
The taskforce will meet for the first time today (21 February) aiming to increase access and uptake of occupational health through:
- Increasing information and visibility for employers on occupational health and the benefits of quality occupational health provision in retaining employees in the workplace
- Empowering employers to play an active role in improving employee health
- Removing barriers by focusing on SMEs with restricted finances and by ensuring that the framework is applicable across sectors
- Complementing other existing health and disability workplace initiatives, including where occupational health is required in law
Occupational health has proven a hot-button topic for the government over the past year.
At last year’s Spring Budget, government announced plans to rollout an occupational health (OH) subsidy pilot to support SMEs in England and to consult on increasing occupational health coverage and tax incentives.
In the summer the Treasury asked whether there is a case for tax relief to be introduced for private medical insurance (PMI) provided though the workplace, despite not seeing the case for the tax break itself.
In a consultation, HM Treasury specifically sought views on how expanding the existing Benefit in Kind (BIK) exemption for medical benefits could help employers provide more services.
And on the day of its Autumn statement the government said it was still considering if it would cut taxes or provide any other support for employers and employees who take out PMI or group risk policies through the workplace.
The UK government also recently launched its Occupational Health Innovation Fund with £1m in funding for 10 projects to develop innovative new models of occupational health. Those models will use technology to improve the capacity and capability of providers and increase access for SMEs.
Phase two of the pilot fund is expected to start in April.
A show and tell event demonstrating the innovative tools and resources will be held at the Department for Health and Social Care today. It will be attended by the minister for employment, Jo Churchill, and minister for health and social care, Helen Whately.
Dame Carol said: “It is a privilege to chair the new taskforce which will review occupational health services available to employees across businesses of all shapes and sizes and then create a framework to support better employee health and wellbeing.
“We will encourage employers to embrace practices that prevent or reduce ill-health related job loss.
“We know the impact high sickness absence and presenteeism has on businesses and their productivity, which is why I am so pleased to work with other members of the taskforce to ensure occupational health support is in place for employees and employers alike.”
Jo Churchill minister for employment, said: “Millions of working days are lost each year through sickness. ”
“We are helping businesses tackle this challenge head on so we can help boost productivity and grow our economy.
“The work of Dame Carol and her expert taskforce will be crucial as we drive down absenteeism, which we know is holding back British businesses, and really focus on making occupational health support available to all.
“Our £2.5bn Back to Work Plan will also help one million people – including those with long-term health conditions and disabilities – find work and reap the benefits it has to offer.
Helen Whately MP, minister for health and social care, added: “A healthy economy is only possible with a healthy workforce.
“We want more people to be able to benefit from good occupational health, especially employees in small businesses, because we know it works.
“This taskforce will set us on the path towards a healthier workforce, in turn boosting productivity and economic growth.”
Brett Hill, head of health and protection at independent consultancy Broadstone, said: “We welcome the government’s new taskforce which we hope will achieve tangible results in raising employer awareness of the benefits of occupational health services, and making such services more accessible to small businesses.
“We hope this initiative will help tackle the alarming rise of in-work sickness and economic inactivity due to ill health.
“Employers are increasingly playing a key role as the first line of defence for their employees’ health, given the struggles many are facing in accessing primary and secondary care on the NHS.
“Occupational Health has a crucial role to play but is only one part of this picture.
“Employees who require medical treatment will still face long NHS waiting lists, yet when employers choose to support their employees with employer funded healthcare benefits their employees are penalised through the tax system in the form of P11d tax.
“At a time when many employees are still struggling with cost-of-living pressures this acts as a disincentive and prevents some employees from taking up benefits that might otherwise improve their health and productivity, support the health of the nation and ease the strain on the NHS.”