The
HSE has released new guidance for employers on reducing musculoskeletal
disorders (MSD), such as backaches or repetitive strain injury (RSI) at work.
The
HSE says that about 1.1 million people in Great Britain suffer from MSDs caused
or made worse by work.
Advice
on using laptops and working with a computer mouse is available in The law
on VDUs: an easy guide, and Work with Display Screen Equipment,
while Aching arms (or RSI) in small businesses offers advice on RSI in
other work activities.
Health
and Safety Commissioner (HSC) Owen Tudor, launching the guidance, said:
"The time for excuses is over. By following the guidance, preventative
action in most workplaces can be taken quite easily and need not be costly.
Indeed, it is likely to be far more expensive for employers and their insurers
to ignore RSI, which may lead not only to compensation claims, but also to
costs arising from sickness absences and reduced productivity."
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