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Secretary of State for Health Alan Johnson has called for employers to do more to promote health and wellbeing among their staff. Speaking at the British Heart Foundation's Well at Work Conference in London, he outlined key steps employers and the government need to take to make this happen:
As the employer of the largest workforce in Europe, the NHS is leading the way in promoting the health and wellbeing of its staff. Employers recognise the significant benefits of creating a healthy and safe environment for their staff, not only in terms of being an attractive and rewarding employer to their staff but also in terms of enabling them to deliver high quality care to their patients. But more can be done to promote the health and wellbeing in the workplace. The annual staff survey helps employers to identify particular issues which might develop into a health problem such as heavy workloads, stress or bullying. We have recently run campaigns to help employers identify and manage staff who are suffering from stress and the health issues associated with bullying and harassment. Tackling sickness absence is an issue for the NHS as it is for many employers and we welcome any initiatives that help people get back to work quickly. All the evidence shows that work is good for you and the sick get better faster if they can be in work. Employers play a major role in helping staff back to work as quickly and easily as possible. We are currently leading a review of sickness absence and ill-health retirement arrangements in the NHS in partnership with the NHS trade unions. This review will help employers support staff through sickness, get them back to work quickly, find other opportunities for them or retire them on the grounds of ill health if necessary. We expect that the new arrangements will come into effect from 1 April. Further information and resources
Last reviewed 22 Feb 2008 |
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