Clinical governance
CPD: Occupational health in police and fire and rescue services
What does an occupational health service in police and fire and rescue services look like and what should it include?
CPD activities: Developing an NHS OH service
Our CPD article considers the challenges of developing an occupational health service for NHS staff, some of which are also relevant to in-house OH services at other organisations. These CPD…
‘An honour and privilege’ – what becoming a Queen’s Nurse means for OH
Leading OH nurse and academic Neil Loach will this autumn receive a singular accolade – becoming a Queen’s Nurse (QN), one of fewer than 50 OHNs to be celebrated in…
Continuing professional development
CPD activities: Learning from the experiences of working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic
These CPD activities, developed by Professor Anne Harriss, are designed to accompany this article by Charlotte E Hall on exploring the experiences of, and lessons from, working from home during…
CPD: Exploring the experiences of working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic
The sudden shift to working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic was a profound and destablising experience for many. PhD student Charlotte E Hall analyses some of the health and…
CPD activities: Invest to save – making the business case for spending on OH
These CPD activities, developed by Professor Anne Harriss, accompany Elaine Kerr’s article ‘Invest to save – making the business case for spending on OH’. They should help occupational health professionals…
Disability
Director with cancer treated unfairly over pay, rules tribunal
A finance and IT director who was diagnosed with cancer experienced harassment when he was denied a pay increase and warned that his future sick pay entitlement would be reduced…
Connect to Work scheme to benefit 15 areas with £338m funding
DWP announces funding for Connect to Work to deliver tailored support to over 85,000 people in 15 areas of England.
BA crew member too anxious to fly wins discrimination claim
British Airways crew member with 40 years’ service wins disability discrimination claim after stress and anxiety made her unable to fly.
Health surveillance
Managing risk assessments for employees who are deaf or have hearing loss
Risk assessments for employees who are deaf or have hearing loss may not always be straightforward. But, writes Dan Morgan-Williams, they are definitely not about singling people out. Rather, they…
Employers ‘worryingly’ ignorant about stress risk assessments
Employer awareness, understanding and compliance with Health and Safety Executive (HSE) stress risk assessment requirements remains “worryingly” low, a poll has found. The survey by Occupational Health Assessment of 115…
Tool developed for employers to calculate cost of respiratory illness
A tool has been developed to help businesses calculate the financial impact of respiratory illnesses within their workforce. The interactive tool, developed by pharmaceutical company Pfizer in partnership with the think-tank…
Musculoskeletal disorders
Police uniforms don’t fit the bill, research reveals
Police officers say uniforms are unfit for purpose, restrictive and contribute to health issues, according to Lancaster University research.
Gen X storing up health problems by failing to exercise
Workers in their forties and fifties are becoming less likely to do regular exercise, so potentially storing up health problems for the future, research has suggested. The survey of ‘Gen…
Keep Britain Working review urging employers to ‘tell us what works’
The Mayfield review is urging employers and workplace health professionals to engage with it about what works and doesn’t work when it comes to healthcare interventions.
Return to work and rehabilitation
Call for a national OH service to tackle rising sickness absence
The UK needs to establish a national occupational health service alongside the NHS to help tackle, and support, the rising numbers of working-age people falling out of work because of…
Employers need to step up on wellbeing provision, says OH body
There needs to be a ‘step-change’ in how employers manage and prevent employee sickness, according to the Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM).
Jobcentres more about benefits than work, say MPs
Rather than places where people are helped to find work, Jobcentres have “become centres for monitoring compliance with benefit conditions”, an influential committee of MPs has said. A report by…
Sickness and absence management
Call for a national OH service to tackle rising sickness absence
The UK needs to establish a national occupational health service alongside the NHS to help tackle, and support, the rising numbers of working-age people falling out of work because of…
Sickness absence soars to nearly two weeks per head in 2025
Average UK employee takes 9.4 days’ sickness absence in 2025, a record high and a 62% increase on pre-pandemic levels, according to CIPD.
Director with cancer treated unfairly over pay, rules tribunal
A finance and IT director who was diagnosed with cancer experienced harassment when he was denied a pay increase and warned that his future sick pay entitlement would be reduced…
Wellbeing and health promotion
Working with pesticides linked to higher risk of respiratory illness
People working with pesticides can be at higher risk of respiratory illnesses, and this may often go undiagnosed, research has suggested. Coughs, chest tightness, wheezing and nasal allergies were all…
Third of employees ‘anxious’ about lack of workplace first aiders
A third of employees (34%) feel anxious about having a lack of trained first aiders in their workplace, according to a poll. The survey of more than 2,000 UK employees…
Personnel Today Awards 2025 shortlist: Health and wellbeing
We profile the work done by all our finalists in the Personnel Today Awards 2025 health and wellbeing category.