Back pain

As an employer, you must protect workers from the risks of developing back pain caused by work. There are things that both you and your workers can do to manage back pain in the workplace, for example there is advice on managing manual handling tasks.

Protect your workers

You must:

Causes of back pain at work

Some work tasks can cause back pain or make existing pain worse:

A major reason for developing back pain is having had a previous episode, particularly if it was recent. How the work is organised (for example, high workloads, tight deadlines, lack of control of the work and working methods) can also have an impact.

Manage the risk of back pain

You can reduce the risk of back pain in your workplace:

People with back pain usually recover completely if the problem is recognised early and treated appropriately.

The NHS has evidence-based advice about preventing back pain at work and there is other useful advice for workers.

If workers already have back pain, tell them about the NHS advice on treating back pain and when back pain can be a sign of something more serious.

There are other things you can do to support your workers.

Updated 2021-06-30