10 million workers miss out on basic workplace health support

Almost half of the UK workforce lacks access to workplace health support, a study has revealed.
The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) analysed data from the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, publishing its findings in the report A Better Way of Doing Business. It found that around 10 million workers lacked access to health services provided by employers, such as winter flu vaccinations, checks for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, and support for smoking cessation and weight loss.
The RSPH warned that workplaces were exacerbating health inequalities, and called for a national standard entitling employers to a minimum level of support. Encouraging better workplace welfare and health practices would reduce the annual £100bn cost to the UK of ill health, it added.
“Millions of people are leaving the workforce due to ill-health, costing us tens of billions every year,” said RSPH chief executive William Roberts. “It also puts an additional strain on our health service leaving people languishing on waiting lists.
“We need to think about how we use our workplaces to build health, keep people well, and prevent people being signed off sick.”