Around one in four adults in the UK experience mental health issues. These problems can often be exacerbated by work. The problem is that the vast majority of mental health training solutions require onsite, day-long, classroom-based external sessions that require a significant time and cost investment. Only the largest or most progressive companies can afford this form of training.

Convincing leadership to include company-wide mental health training in their budget and that effective training doesn’t need to come at a huge cost has proven to be a real challenge. VinciWorks has created a short guide to help present a business case for mental health training and get board buy-in.

The guide covers:

• Some of the difficulties in getting board-level buy-in for action on mental health
• Shocking statistics surrounding wellbeing at work
• Guidance on how to get buy-in for mental health training
• Business’ legal requirement to provide mental health training

Download the guide

With new research showing that poor mental health costs UK employers £45 billion a year, now more than ever is the time to take action on wellbeing. Mental health-related problems for businesses, including presenteeism, absences, and staff turnover, have increased 16% since Deloitte’s last survey in 2016.

Changes in work practices, particularly the ‘always on’ culture, have made it harder for employees to disconnect during their downtime, and employers haven’t yet figured out how to adapt to this new work culture.

Research from the CIPD found that two fifths of UK businesses have seen an increase in stress-related absences, with management style increasingly identified as the source of stress.

Continue reading

The estimated cost of mental ill-health to UK employers each year is between £33 billion and £42 billion, totalling around 91 million lost working days. About 10% of these losses were due to staff replacement costs, 30% down to people being off sick (absenteeism) and 60% of the cost due to reduced productivity at work (presenteeism).

Two-thirds of UK CEOs considered the mental health of their employees as a priority, but only 16% had a defined strategy in place to help them.

Continue reading

As a user of display screen equipment (DSE), there is legislation called the DSE Regulations which requires that your employer provides you with a suitable workstation, as well as taking steps to protect you from the risks of working with display screen equipment. Using DSE (i.e. PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones) for extended periods or using them incorrectly can result in fatigue, eye strain, upper limb problems, back and neck problems, repetitive strain injury, stress, headaches and more.

VinciWorks’ ergonomics assessment takes employees who work at a desk through a short interactive analysis of their workstation. Take three minutes to complete the assessment while sitting at your desk. The answers to the questions presented in the assessment can be collected and reported using VinciWorks’ online reporting solution.

Take assessment

Continue reading

What is a display screen equipment assessment (DSE)?

The DSE Regulations require that, as well as providing a suitable workstation for their DSE users, employers must also take steps to protect workers from the health risks of working with display screen equipment (DSE), such as laptops, tablets and smartphones. Looking at these devices for extended periods, or using them incorrectly, can result in fatigue, eye strain, upper limb problems, back and neck problems, repetitive strain injury, stress, headaches and more. It is vital for your long-term health to take DSE safety seriously, set up your workstation properly, and properly use all the equipment you need to do your job. DSE rules are there to protect you and your colleagues’ health.

Improper use of DSE is associated with neck, shoulder, back, arm, wrist and hand pain.

Read more

Failure to comply with health and safety laws can result in both civil and criminal penalties. As an employer, if someone has an accident at work or is made ill, a health and safety regulator can prosecute that employer for a criminal offence, and / or the person who was injured or made ill can make a civil claim for damages. No one has to be harmed for a health and safety offence to occur. The risk of harm is enough for an offence.

Health and Safety Laws in the UK

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires all businesses in the UK to provide whatever information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure the health and safety of employees. Further, as part of managing the health and safety of staff, employers are required by law to perform a risk assessment of the hazards relevant to their workplace.

In addition, all UK employers have a duty to report certain serious workplace accidents, occupational diseases and specified dangerous occurrences (near misses) under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR).

These laws apply to all workplaces, from high-risk environments such as construction sites, where additional legislations applies, to lower risk places such as offices. There are also regulations surrounding DSE, or display screen equipment.

 UK Health and Safety at Work Legislation

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974

This law sets out the framework for managing workplace health and safety in the UK.

The act defines the general duties of everyone from employers (section 2) and employees (section 7,8) to owners, managers and maintainers of work premises (etc) for maintaining health and safety within most workplaces.

Continue reading

What is an OHS policy?

The OHS policy refers to the Occupational Health and Safety policy. It is a set of guidelines and principles established by an organisation to promote and maintain a safe and healthy work environment for its employees. 

Continue reading