Free advisory service on health and safety for small businesses goes live

E020:06 23 February 2006

New service to reduce estimated £10 billion cost to UK economy

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath today launched Workplace Health Connect, a new free advisory service on workplace health for smaller businesses: "This new confidential advisory service for small businesses offers cost-effective and simple solutions to help cut workplace injuries and ill-health. It is simply unacceptable that UK small businesses incur major costs because they are unaware of effective and efficient solutions to manage health and safety."

Delivered in partnership with the Health and Safety Executive, the service aims to reduce the incidence of workplace ill health, which leads to 28 million working days lost, at an estimated cost of £10 billion to the UK economy.

Geoffrey Podger, Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Executive, said: "Smaller businesses have always driven the UK economy forward and we want to give them every opportunity to continue this role. However, workplace ill health is costing small businesses up to 10% of their total payroll costs, which can put real downward pressure on their bottom line. We therefore want to help small business stop workers becoming ill at work and help them to get back to work as soon as possible, if they do, which is ultimately why we have launched Workplace Health Connect."

Workplace Health Connect will provide free, impartial and practical advice and support on health, safety and return to work issues. Where needed, this will be followed up by workplace visits from qualified Workplace Health Connect advisers. These visits are available in London, the North East, the North West, South Wales and the West Midlands 1.

Workplace Health Connect advisers are able to advise on a range of issues that can affect workplace health including: poor manual handling technique, incorrect use of chemicals, poor hygiene in the workplace, working in dusty or noisy environments and working at a badly set up workstation.

Notes for editors

1. The Workplace Health Connect service is designed to help tackle and reduce the incidence of work related ill-health in England and Wales and principally lead to a 6% reduction in the incidence rate of workplace related ill-health and a 9% reduction in the number of days lost due to injuries and ill-health. The service will be delivered in partnership with the Health and Safety Executive.

2. The Advice line, which covers England and Wales, will give free, detailed and tailored practical advice to callers - both smaller business employers and workers - on workplace health, safety and return to work issues. (Smaller businesses are defined as employing between five and 250 people.)

3. Healthy Working Lives (formerly Safe and Healthy Working) is available to smaller businesses in Scotland, offering a similar service to Workplace Health Connect. The service can be accessed at www.healthscotland.com/hwl.

4. A Workplace Health Connect website explaining the service can be accessed at www.workplacehealthconnect.co.uk

1 Whilst the Advice line will be available for any employer, manager or worker working for smaller business within England and Wales, workplace visits are only available in five regions for the present. These regions cover some 40% of smaller businesses. It is proposed to extend the service in early 2007 to provide service coverage for some two thirds of smaller businesses in England and Wales.

The Advice line will encourage employers in the five regions to take up the offer of a workplace visit. Where employers want to take up the offer, they will be referred to the appropriate regional problem-solving service to make arrangements for the visit.

A key aim of the workplace visits will be to transfer knowledge and skills to employers. Advisers will spend time getting to know the business and identifying any potential health or safety issues in the workplace. They will provide advice on the best way of combating these and develop a plan with the employer for improving the way risks to health and safety are managed in the workplace. A written report will summarise findings and an action plan for resolving issues identified. Clients will also be offered a follow-up visit offering further support. Where necessary, employers will be signposted to specialist support.

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