There are four main priorities:
1. The welfare of your employees.
2. The minimising of your legal position by listening to employees and reacting positively to their concerns.
3. Objective assessment of individual employees symptoms and work practices.
4. To consider the cost of supplying our Workplace Wellness assessments versus the costs of litigation and preventable loss of productivity and greater absenteeism.
CEO's are aware of the Health and Safety assessments that their companies undertake each year. All too often these assessments come to generalised conclusions about trailing wires, heating, lighting and inadequate workstations, but they are not very likely to achieve a specific diagnosis of an individual employees' pain syndrome.
Effectively dealing with ill health and employee absence needs sensitivity to the circumstances of that particular employee. Being aware of legal obligations whilst obtaining as complete an understanding of the physical and mental state in which the person is working obviously has many positive effects. This is most important when employees may already have or may have recently developed a health concern or problem.
Responsibility for managing ill-health issues at work and employee absence due to sickness ultimately rests with the head of your institution. However, Human Resources has direct responsibility and must issue general guidance from time to time to reflect current legal requirements and good employment practice. Our report can form part of your guidance, giving you details about furnishings, workstations, posture, mouse and keyboard etc..
Managing sickness absences often requires a pro-active approach if long-term problems are to be avoided. Therefore it is vital that there is disclosure with the member of staff about whether the cause may be work related and what measures could bring about an solution. You can simply request them to be assessed and you will be able to make an more informed judgement. Early action is key, a stitch in time saves nine.
Members of staff who have been absent with a medical condition for which there is no recognised normal recovery time can present a problem in that you (HR) cannot know how long their problem will last. The whole point of our assessment process is to provide you and the employee with a more precise picture of the problem. Not only does it tell you what the problem is in great detail, it also provides solutions both for the individual and for the general workforce.
Managers can see when an employee is in pain, so can everyone else. What do you do about it? Have a chat with them, see what is wrong?
Employees may complain of symptoms like wrist pain and pins and needles or a familiar symptom like neck ache which has now become so severe that they start making mistakes and slow right down, incapacitated. You can send them home to recover but their recovery may take a few weeks, you won't know until they get the 'all clear'. Then they return to work and the same pain starts up again.... what now?
The role you play in the welfare of employee health is absolutely essential for the successful implementation of the policies of your organisation.
All employees from the CEO to the janitor are liable to suffer from work related pain.
'Pinched nerves', tense shoulders and sciatica to name a few. But the key 'killer' of productivity in the tech industry is the many different types of repetitive strain injuries involving the upper limb, tendons and joints.
Currently, UK businesses are losing 5
days a year per employee due to absenteeism, which is costing the
British economy £20 billion. Absenteeism is estimated to cost the
average UK business £554 per employee.
The scale of the UK’s
absenteeism problem is simply staggering. British firms are
currently losing nearly a week’s worth of productivity from
employees and this is having a detrimental effect on their bottom
lines. SMEs are most affected by this problem due to much smaller
workforces, they are simply not able to absorb the impact of an
absent member of staff.
Reports predict that this cost will
increase to £21 billion in 2020, and £26 billion in 2030. Right now,
studies suggest that each employee costs businesses approximately
£500 a year in absentee costs. Further costs associated with
absenteeism are less tangible.It can be hard to attribute a
monetary value to them, but they still hamper your profitability
nonetheless.