The TUC has called on UK employers to give better occupational health assistance to the two million employees who every year believes they have become ill as a result of their jobs. Over the next year, the TUC hopes that around 15,000 workplace safety reps can be trained using the new TUC educational workbook, Occupational Health: Dealing with the Issues. The reps will be able to use the guide to assess the extent of ill health in their workplaces and work with their employers to find the best ways of making the business a healthier place to work. The TUC workbook says that apart from the huge personal cost to individuals when they become ill as a result of their work, 175 million working days were lost as a result of sickness absence in 2006, costing firms £650 per poorly employee.
TUC News