Managing health risks at work
Health Risks at Work is a national campaign to inform and educate workers and their managers about some of the common health risks experienced in many workplaces.
Every organisation is invited to become involved in the Health Risks at Work campaign. They can identify, and manage, the common risks to health associated with work activities and pass information and support on to other organisations who could benefit.
The campaign is supported by:
- Healthy Working Lives
- Health and Safety Executive
- Safety Groups UK
- Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents
Many small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) don’t know all of the occupational health risks faced by their employees. The campaign aims to provide information, and tools to help businesses manage common health risks.
Poor working conditions can have a negative impact:
- economically on the company
- on the workers
- on the local community
It therefore makes good business sense for employers to protect the health and improve morale of their workforce.
The Introducing Health Risks at Work video is a 10 minute introduction to the topics covered by the campaign. It can be shared with employees and managers, and used in training sessions as a means of starting conversations about issues in your workplace.
Good work is good for health, but not all work is healthy. Work can have a negative physical and mental impact, on workers if they are exposed to substances or situations that are damaging.
These risks to health can be managed, and ill health prevented, if you identify sources of harm and implement measures to manage them. The campaign topics covered are:
- Risks to your breathing
- Risks to your skin
- Risks to your muscles, bones and joints
- Risks to hearing
- Risks to your sense of touch
- Risks to your wellbeing
These pages and video links are designed to introduce you, and your workers, to common health risks. Each topic can be used separately to raise awareness of a specific risk in your workplace.
Online training
Healthy Working Lives have an online training course entitled Health Risks at Work to help managers understand in more detail:
- how workplace exposures can impact on the health of their staff
- the steps that can be taken to protect workers
By working through the online training and reading through the chapters of Health Risks at Work, many managers and individual employees will be able to find advice relating to their workplace.
Contact information
If you find that you still have questions or require extra support, organisations based in Scotland can message us or call our advice line on 0800 019 2211.