EEF believes that protecting and promoting the health of employees is key to successful and sustainable business performance.
Objectives
1. To increase the health of businesses, including member companies and their employees, through promoting good and best practice in health risk management.
2. To develop and promote the business case for occupational health.
3. To identify the key service areas of activity in occupational health for EEF Associations and to provide access to high quality occupational health services for member companies.
4. To work in partnership with other key players, and campaign on behalf of members in the context of ‘Better Regulation,’ to achieve compliance with the law and continuing improvements in work related health:
- musculoskeletal disorders
- stress, anxiety and depression
- noise induced hearing loss
- dermatitis
- occupational asthma
- hand arm vibration syndrome
and other significant issues as they arise, having regard to HSC/E’s ‘Revitalising Health and Safety’ and ‘Securing Health Together’.
Key Stratgic Action Areas
To identify appropriate key partners / stakeholders for each of the following initiatives in line with HSE’s five strategic programmes (compliance, continuous improvement, knowledge, skills, support).
Business case for occupational health
- To develop and promote the business case for occupational health
Managers’ occupational health competence
- To work with HSE to develop occupational health competence criteria for managers
Rehabilitation at Work
- To promote good practice and best practice in rehabilitation, reducing disability and sickness absence
Managing Stress
- To promote good practice in managing stress at work
Occupational Health Performance Indicators
- To develop series of practical, meaningful occupational health performance indicators
Access to Occupational Health Services
- To facilitate appropriate access to occupational health services across the UK
Health Promotion
- To promote good health, especially in terms of exercise, diet and lifestyle
Progress to date
Some the key actions taken so far under the elements of the strategy:
Business case for occupational health
- Appointed EEF’s Chief Medical Adviser
- Held a national conference: Investing in Workplace Health
Managers’ occupational health competence
- Worked with HSE’s Skills Programme Action Group to help identify competencies
Rehabilitation at Work
- Undertook a nationwide survey of long term sickness absence and rehabilitation with IRS, leading publishers on employment and health and safety law click here for your free copy
- Produced ground-breaking guidance with the EEF’s legal team on Managing Sickness Absence and Rehabilitation click here
Managing Stress
- Managing Stress at Work publication available click here for you free copy
- Continue to engage with development of HSE’s pilot management standards
- Conducting regional seminars on stress with HR and employment law experts
- Researching use of an effective work organization questionnaire
- Worked with mindout for mental health to make the line managers’ resource available to all member companies (see link opposite)
- Engaged with the mindout ambassador programme
Occupational Health Performance Indicators
- Piloted key indicators as measures of performance with EEF Sheffield
- Further work on benchmarking to be conducted with the H,S&E Policy Committee
Access to Occupational Health Services
- For details of Occupational Health Services in your region contact your regional EEF Association. For example EEF Sheffield and EEF East Midlands and Mid Anglia are closely collaborating with Outokumpu to provide mobile OH facilities.