Health, safety and wellbeing

At worst, working people are seriously injured or killed in avoidable workplace accidents. Thankfully, incidents like these are relatively rare.

But work-related health problems can affect anyone and some are very common, such as headaches, back problems or stress.

There are steps you can take to keep well at work, but your employer also has certain legal obligations. If they’re putting you at risk of illness or injury, you can take action.

Very often, the best way to solve problems is to join with co-workers and try to reach agreement with your employers on how to make the workplace safer and healthier for everyone. 

Unions are experts on workplace health and safety and have campaigned for many years in this area. The evidence shows that workplaces where unions are recognised are safer workplaces.

This section offers basic information on health, safety and wellbeing at work. But it shouldn't be taken as legal advice. If you’re having specific problems in one of these areas, you should seek individual advice from your union or a qualified adviser.

Support for health and safety reps 

You can find more practical advice on a range of workplace issues in our support for reps section