There are seven steps which employers should take to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses costing the British economy £14 billion annually, cut the 14.5 million days of sickness absence a year caused by work-related illness and injury, and prevent 27,000 workers leaving the workforce permanently every year because of workplace injury and ill-health, according to TUC research published today (Monday). And the TUC found that even in the workplaces where unions are recognised (generally better than average employers), only one in twelve had achieved best practice on rehabilitation. Two thirds of the businesses surveyed couldn’t even manage good practice. In construction, only one in twelve companies had good practice.

The research, which was funded by the Department of Work and Pensions, asked union reps in 1200 workplaces about what was done for people whose ill-health or injury affected their ability to work, and identified what makes a good rehabilitation and retention system. Nine case studies have been developed (summary attached).

TUC General Secretary John Monks said:

'People at work don’t expect to be injured or made ill by their work, and their bosses don’t intend to hurt them - and thanks to what unions and managers have done in partnership, Britain is one of the safest countries to work in. But when the worst happens, we need to get people back to health and back to work, and Britain isn’t good at that. Rehabilitation is good sense, it’s good business and it’s good for people.'

The Minister for Work, Rt Hon Nick Brown MP, said:

'I warmly welcome this important study of rehabilitation, and am delighted that we were able to support the TUC in carrying it out. It shows that the best results are achieved when employers and employees work together. This message is a valuable contribution to the discussions the TUC, the ABI and the CBI have started. We will be interested to see their conclusions.'

In Rehabilitation and Retention: what works is what matters, the TUC calls on employers to:

establish clear policies on rehabilitating their injured workers;

separate sickness absence management from disciplinary processes;

work with unions and the workforce to develop policies on rehabilitation, and be open about the implementation of those policies;

respond actively to sickness absence, by staying in touch with workers off sick and referring them for medical checks early;

adopt a multi-disciplinary approach to rehabilitation, involving senior and line managers, personnel and health professionals;

making the initial presumption that sickness absence is work-related (and investigating possible causes) unless proved otherwise; and

provide access to good occupational health facilities.

Rehabilitation and retention: what works is what matters is available on the TUC website at www.tuc.org.uk. The full report, Rehabilitation and retention: the workplace experience, is also there, and so are the full case studies (Rehabilitation and retention: case studies). The TUC reports will be submitted to an Association of British Insurers consultation exercise, Getting back to work, which was launched in June.

The research also found that:

About a third of workplaces surveyed (34%) exhibited good practice on rehabilitation, but only 8% achieved best practice.

The main problems likely to affect the ability of employees to carry out their duties were stress (67%), back pain (55%), infections (39%) and RSI (31%) - the first, second and third worst problem were counted for each workplace so the numbers total to more than 100%.

The commonest steps which employers are taking to return people to work are phased returns to work (56%), changes to tasks, or work content (54%), changed working hours (44%), visits to keep in touch (39%) and providing training (23%).

Key regional and sectoral statistics are set out on subsequent pages.

Notes to Editors:

All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

pre-embargo releases and reports from the TUC. Visit www.tuc.org.uk/pressextranet

A series of TUC rights leaflets are available on our website and from the know your rights line 0870 600 4 882. Lines are open every day from 8am-10pm. Calls are charged at the national rate.

Contacts:

Media enquiries: 020 7467 1248 or 07699 744115 (pager) or email media@tuc.org.uk

Other enquiries: Owen Tudor, TUC Senior Policy Officer (Prevention, Rehabilitation and Compensation) on 07788 715261 (mobile) or at otudor@tuc.org.uk

The report author, Lewis Emery, at the LRD, is available for interviews by arrangement through the TUC media office.

Regional highlights

Good and best practice

The regions with the most workplaces showing best practice were the South West (14% - national average 8%), Wales (12%) and North West (10%) - they also showed above average rates of good practice (South West - 36%; Wales and North West - 37%).

Good practice was most common in the North East (52% - national average 35%), but also above average in Yorkshire and Humberside (37%) and London (36%).

The regions with the worst performance overall were the South East and West Midlands. In each case, there was best practice in only 6% of workplaces, good practice in only 28%.

Although the North East had the highest proportion of employers with good practice, few employers there shine - only 4% of firms attain best practice - the lowest proportion in Great Britain.

Main problems affecting the ability of employees to carry out their duties

Wales has more problems with RSI than any other region - it causes problems in 43% of workplaces (the national average is 30%).

Scotland has the highest rate of problems with mental ill-health/depression (26% compared with a GB average of 15%), as well as problems with stress (72% of workplaces) and infections (53%). But bad backs affect fewer workplaces than elsewhere (49% - reflecting a major Scottish initiative on getting people with bad backs back to work), and the lowest problems with violence in Great Britain (9% - national average: 16%).

London has the second highest problem with violence (25%), and high rates of stress (affecting people in 73% of workplaces), but has the least problems with getting people with infections back to work (30%).

The North East has the highest proportion of workplaces with problems getting the victims of violence back to work (27%), but the lowest for problems with infections (29%).

Yorkshire and Humberside have the highest rates of problems with stress (77%) and high rates of mental ill-health/depression (23%).

The North West has high rates of RSI (37%).

In the Midlands, easterners face high levels of stress (affecting 74% of workplaces) and the highest level of headaches/eye strain in Great Britain (31%), but workplaces in the West Midlands have the lowest levels of stress problems (52%). Bad backs are a worse problem (59% - the worst level in Great Britain). However, headaches/eye strain affect nearly as many workplaces as in the East Midlands (28%).

Stress and RSI are problems in the Eastern Region (in 76% and 36% of workplaces respectively).

The worst problem with bad backs is in the South West (61%).

The South East has the lowest levels of RSI (22%) and of mental ill-health/depression (6%).

How regions do things differently to help people back to work

Scotland’s employers are tops for keeping in touch with people off work (50% of employers), but London’s employers are the worst in GB, with only 27% staying in touch.

London employers prefer to change people’s hours to help them get back to work (at 58%, London’s employers do this more than anywhere else), and they are also more likely to adapt tools and workplaces to help people return to work.

North West employers are almost as likely to reduce people’s hours as London’s (56% to 58%). But the North West is the region where you are least likely to receive training (13% - the average is 23%).

In the North East, a record 66% of employers change the work people do, and 42% of employers provide training to help workers back to work. The Eastern region is also good at changing work (65% of workplaces do this).

Scotland’s employers are the worst in Great Britain for changing the work people do (41%).

West Midlands employers are more likely than any others to offer a phased return to work (66%).

South East employers lead the country in reducing the pace of work for people returning to their jobs (29%).

Sectoral breakdown

The proportion of employers in each sector with good rehabilitation practices (best practice in brackets) are as follows:

Health and social work - 48% (15%)

Utilities - 47% (13%)

Other community services - 47% (9%)

Public administration - 41% (11%)

National average - 35% (8%)

Manufacturing - 32% (7%)

Transport, storage, communication - 32% (6%)

Financial services - 31% (9%)

Education - 31% (7%)

Wholesale, retail and repair - 30% (0%)

Construction - 8% (3%)

Concise summaries of the performance of these sectors are included in the full report.

Main problems affecting the ability of employees to carry out their duties

In manual industries, bad backs caused problems for most workplaces:

Construction - 83%

Wholesale - 76%

Manufacturing - 70%

Transport - 66%

Utilities - 67%

Health and social work - 63%

But in the service sector, stress was the main problem:

Education - 85%

Public administration - 79%

Health and social work - 78%

Financial services - 69%

Other community services - 64%

Transport - 64%

RSI was a problem in many sectors: wholesale (56%), construction (53%), manufacturing (45%), public administration (43%) and financial services (40%).

Violence was a problem only in the sectors involving work with the public: from public administration (27%), health and social work (26%), transport (21%) and education (18%) to construction (5%) and manufacturing (1%).

Mental ill-health/depression was most of a problem in education (27%) and financial services (21%).

Case study employers

Halifax Bank (part of HBOS): Finance sector, 38,000 employees. The bank has appointed an Organisational Health Manager to oversee the development of a policy framework on employee wellbeing. Its Attendance Management Procedure was developed with the close involvement of the union (IUHS), and a comprehensive framework for rehabilitation was being developed.

Hickson and Welch: Chemical manufacturer, around 400 employees. Rehabilitation and Restricted Work programmes are overseen by a joint union/management Absence Review Committee chaired by the union convenor. Counselling and a policy on stress are part of the framework, and there is a clear focus on the avoidance of accidents.

Lloyds TSB Group: Finance sector, 83,000 employees. A strong commitment to rehabilitation is reflected in its efforts to ensure that disabled employees are properly integrated and accommodated at work. Concepts of diversity and work-life balance influence the overall approach, and external consultants have played a role in the development and provision of health-related services.

Moseley and District Churches Housing Association: Voluntary sector, 90 employees. While there was no distinct rehabilitation policy at the time of the interviews, this organisation had recently developed its absence monitoring system, and this was contributing to a more informed approach to rehabilitation, alongside other supportive policies and practices.

National Exhibition Centre: A service sector company 'influenced' by Birmingham City Council, just over 1,000 permanent staff with a similar number of temporary staff. Procedures for rehabilitation at NEC are available under existing sickness procedures. NEC was seen as having a good occupational health service.

Newham Healthcare NHS Trust: Public sector, 1,500 staff. Policy on absence and rehabilitation was being brought into line with a more developed practice at the time of the interviews. The Occupational Health Department works closely with Human Resources on health and disability issues. This case is referred to in the report as the Newham health trust.

Scottish Courts Service: Public sector, 900 permanent staff. The service had a positive commitment to rehabilitation. Its approach is 'business driven', with a fall in sickness absence attributed to the absence policy and the Occupational Health Service.

ScottishPower: Private utility, 13,000 staff. Rehabilitation is promoted by the Group Occupational Health Department, working in co-operation with management of the legally separate businesses that make up the Group. Policies relating to the management of capability and employee health are formulated at Group level but adapted by the businesses. Health and safety law and the DDA underpin the approach but health promotion takes a high profile, and specific initiatives (eg on stress) involving the unions add to the general momentum.

Sheffield City Council: Public sector, 20,000 staff. Absence, rehabilitation and disability were being dealt with under a Managing Incapacity and Attendance at Work procedure introduced in 1998. This has helped address the issue of consistency in the way that sickness and rehabilitation is dealt with across the organisation, although it was recognised that more could be done in this respect.

Press release (2,200 words) issued 22 Jul 2002

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