This line manager briefing covers a number of challenging situations that may arise as a result of an employee's pregnancy or maternity leave, but will not be relevant to every pregnancy or period of maternity leave. A second briefing, Line   More...
26 March 2013 00:01

Life at work is now rated as being more stressful than debt or health problems in the UK. Excessive workloads, a lack of support from line managers and unrealistic targets have contributed to a stressed-out workforce, a survey has found. The leading   More...
19 March 2013 12:11

The Government's proposals for an independent sickness review service could forever change the face of occupational health in Britain, says occupational health adviser Lindsey Hall. "Fitness for work: the Government response to 'Health at work - an   More...
08 March 2013 00:01

Helping to support people with long-term conditions and get them back into the workforce is an important part of providing care, but is an area that is sadly lacking in the current health service, says the Royal College of General Practitioner's Dr John  More...
08 March 2013 00:01

Dementia and cancer have been included among 32 new indicators proposed by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) for the latest Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set (CCG OIS). But NICE has been critici  More...
08 March 2013 00:01

Work-related stress does not appear to increase the risk of developing cancer, according to an analysis of previous medical studies. The review of 12 studies was led by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and University College London, an  More...
08 March 2013 00:01

Cleaning jobs and asthma New research has found strong evidence for a link between cleaning jobs and the risk of developing asthma. Just under 10% of a cohort of 9,488 people born in 1958 developed asthma by the age of 42 (not including those who had  More...
08 March 2013 00:01

Trade union body the TUC has published a 10-point safety "manifesto" for workplaces. The Time for change report has called for, among other things, more inspections, far greater control of carcinogens and a maximum temperature in the workplace.   More...
07 March 2013 00:01

A Government-commissioned "progress report" on how it is doing on health and safety reform has argued that it is making rapid progress in cutting red tape and tackling "over-zealous application of health and safety" regulation. Two reports were publ  More...
06 March 2013 00:01

Providing access to occupational health is seen by employers as one of the most useful tools at their disposal for managing sickness absence, according to a poll by consultancy Jelf Employee Benefits. Some 31% of employers surveyed rated OH as the m  More...
05 March 2013 00:01

The Government's controversial Work Capability Assessment (WCA) regime, which is run for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) by private firm Atos Healthcare, came under serious fire in February from the influential House of Commons Public Account  More...
04 March 2013 00:01

The Government should consider ring-fencing the savings it expects to make from its new work assessment and advisory service and use the money to fund a new government-backed occupational health nurse training course, a leading OH nurse has said. Gra  More...
04 March 2013 00:01

Physical activity at work is "unlikely" to pose a risk to pregnancy, a report by the Royal College of Physicians and the Faculty of Occupational Medicine has found. But the guidance, issued by the Health and Work Development Unit - a partnership b  More...
04 March 2013 00:01

The Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM) and the Faculty of Occupational Medicine (FOM) have agreed in principle to merge into a single entity within the next two years. In a letter sent out to members of both organisations in January, president of  More...
04 March 2013 00:01

The number of new corporate manslaughter cases opened by the Crown Prosecution Service has risen by 40% in the past year, according to latest statistics from law firm Pinsent Masons. There were 63 cases opened in 2012, compared with 45 cases in 2011  More...
03 March 2013 00:01

It's time for employers to view private medical insurance as a key part of their occupational health spend, argues Nic Paton. By rights, OH and workplace-based health insurance such as private medical insurance (PMI) and income protection should be   More...
01 March 2013 00:01

Lone workers can face risks those in an office environment may not even think about. Walter Brennan explains how to evaluate these and handle them effectively. As with any other form of work, employers are expected to undertake a risk assessment befo  More...
01 March 2013 00:01

The battle for Britain's lungs Prior to the discovery of streptomycin in 1952 by scientist Selman Waksman, tuberculosis (TB) was a major killer, not...  More...
01 March 2013 00:01

When Medtronic decided to focus on the health and wellbeing of its employees, the results were surprising, says Gen Barron. Medtronic is a medical technology company with staff in more than 50 countries. Its core mission is "contributing to human wel  More...
01 March 2013 00:01

Alison Hammond and Anne Harriss discuss what to do when dealing with one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders in the workplace. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) account for the majority of occupational-related absence and illness in the UK (G  More...
01 March 2013 00:01