Making Small Businesses Healthier Places to Work

What was Workplace Health Connect?

Workplace Health Connect is a two year pilot scheme, run by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), providing businesses employing between 5 and 250 people with free and confidential expert advice on health, safety and getting people back to work.
 
System Concepts was chosen by the HSE to provide occupational health, safety and return-to-work (OHSR) advisers in Greater London due to their wealth of experience in providing advice to small businesses, and their awareness of the issues that affect small businesses in London.
 
Tanya Heasman, System Concepts Joint Managing Director, explains the motivation behind the scheme, “Over 17 million working days each year are lost in small and medium sized enterprises due to occupational ill health and injury, at an estimated cost to the economy of up to £16 billion in 2001/02.  However, because less than 40% of the cost falls on businesses themselves, they often under-invest in health and safety.  The rest of the cost falls on society through the NHS, benefits such as Incapacity Benefit, and on workers and their families.

The HSE believes that free provision of good occupational health services to small businesses, which either cannot afford or choose not to use them, may improve workers’ health and reduce the overall cost to society.”

The pilot finished in February 2008 and the HSE is now evaluating its impact to decide whether further funding for the service should be made available.

How did the scheme work?

• An employer contacted the service for advice, either generally or about a specific health and/or safety problem.
• If the employer wanted a visit, System Concepts provided an OHSR adviser to visit their workplace, and provide help specific to the particular needs of the employer, workers and hazards in the workplace.
• The adviser also provided the employer with information and skills to better manage their health and safety, a short, tailored report and an action plan.
• The adviser made a second visit after six to eight weeks to discuss progress, help with implementation and answer any further questions and followed up with a final telephone call after two to three months.

What was the result?

Employers
The scheme has been received enthusiastically by employers, helping them to focus on longer-term issues such as musculoskeletal disorders, stress and sickness absence management and providing them with impartial advice without fear of recrimination from the authorities or of the consultation being used to sell them an expensive service.

They also benefit from a reduction in ill health in the workforce, a reduction in injuries due to preventative action, and further reductions in days lost due to emphasis on good sickness absence management and timely and effective rehabilitation and return-to-work.

One client, the Business Manager for a small charity, wrote “I just wanted to express how helpful we found the service in improving our Health & Safety arrangements.  Working with you and the templates that you supplied allowed me to be sure that I was up to date and aware of what we needed to do.  I was able to adapt the documents you supplied to our organisation much more easily than I would have thought possible and to subsequently put in place arrangements for regular updating and monitoring.  It was a pleasure working with you and we are very grateful that we were able to benefit from this service free of charge.”

Employees
System Concepts also received a lot of positive feedback from employees.  This note is typical:
“I wanted to send a quick message just to say that I have greatly benefited from a work station assessment done by one of your advisers. I am back to work full time after problems with my neck and forearms and am feeling so much more comfortable and happy.  Your adviser was absolutely fantastic.”

The HSE
Paul Wilson from the HSE Workplace Health delivery team commented “System Concepts has proven to be a flexible and co-operative partner, delivering a service model prescribed by HSE, and has worked in a very professional manner with HSE, taking on board suggestions and providing feedback.

They have been effective and professional members of the partnership which successfully delivered visits to nearly 1,100 small businesses in Greater London, ensuring knowledge and skills were transferred to employers who have responsibility for over 28,000 workers.”

Further information

Although this scheme has finished, advice for small businesses is still available, details are shown on the HSE website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/workplacehealth/ which also contains details of the pilot scheme evaluation.

Last updated: August, 2009

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