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Attention: Health and industrial correspondents, personnel and health/safety media

Rehabilitation: the missing link in workplace safety and sickness absence

The TUC has warned the Government and the Health and Safety Commission that their plans (contained in Revitalising health and safety) to reduce the sickness absence caused by workplace injuries and illness by 30% by 2010 have no chance of success without a legal duty on employers to plan rehabilitation for victims, or a major expansion in the rehabilitation services available to victims.

The TUC released figures from a survey of workplace safety reps showing that only 23% of employers provide access to rehabilitation for injured workers, which is less than the 30% using sickness absence monitoring for disciplinary purposes.

Launching a TUC report on rehabilitation, Restoring to health, returning to work, TUC Senior Policy Officer Owen Tudor said:

'Employers have a legal duty to prevent injury and illness and a legal duty to pay compensation where they fail, but no duty to get the people they injury back to work and back to fitness. Rehabilitation is the missing link.

'Even good employers aren’t providing rehabilitation to their workers as a matter of course, so it’s no surprise that 19 million days of work are lost because of workplace injuries and illness. Rehabilitation could slash that enormous loss of talent and productivity, and it could make a real difference to the 25,000 people consigned to a life on benefits every year by workplace injury.'

The TUC is calling on the Government to use the forthcoming Safety Bill to give employers a legal duty to develop a rehabilitation policy as part of the safety policy they are already required to have.

Owen Tudor was speaking at a conference promoting the added value of physiotherapy in occupational health, organised by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) , in London. The CSP represents chartered physiotherapists who have a key role in providing rehabilitation services for the 500,000 people affected every year by workplace musculo-skeletal problems (back strain and RSI).

Speaking at the conference, CSP chief executive Phil Gray highlighted the need for improvements in occupational health. He said:

'Each week some 3,000 people are forced to give up work because of prolonged illness or disability. Ninety per cent never return to work. As a result employers lose employees with considerable expertise and experience. The CSP is calling on the NHS and employers in general to recognise the value of workplace physiotherapy in the fight against work-related ill health. We believe that prompt and equitable access to vocational rehabilitation is essential for all.'

Notes to Editors:

1. Restoring to health, returning to work, a report of three conferences held by the TUC on rehabilitation, in Birmingham, Cardiff and Edinburgh, is available from the TUC. It costs £25 (£5 for unions).

2. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy conference on 'NHS Plus' takes place at their headquarters, 14 Bedford Row, London WC1, today (Monday) from 10am to 4pm. The CSP press office is on 020 7306 6616.

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

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: Stephanie Power on 020 7467 1310 or email spower@tuc.org.uk

Other enquiries: Owen Tudor on 020 7467 1325 or 07788 715261 (mobile)

Press release (600 words) issued 9 Jul 2001