Employers cause 4.9 million days lost work through back injuries
02/06/05
The recently released 2003/4 Labour Force Survey an estimated 4.9 million days are lost due to back pain caused by employers failure to promote and enforce the use of lifting and handling aids. The figures indicate that each affected employee takes an average of 19 days off.
The charity BackCare meanwhile estimates the overall cost of back pain - to the NHS, business and the economy - at ?5 billion per year.
Against this background the HSE is launching its Better Backs campaign on 6 June. The campaign will offer concise, practical tips on how to avoid back-related injuries in the workplace to both businesses and employees via a dedicated Better Backs site and helpline (0845 345 0055).
Lord Hunt, Work and Pensions Minister said:
"Occupational ill health and injury accounts for 40 million working days lost with back pain alone accounting for 4.9 million. The effects on those businesses and individuals is almost incalculable. It's not only impacting on business's profits - it's affecting productivity and stopping employees enjoying their social life.
"Everyone needs to take responsibility for tackling this issue - and by taking simple, sensible precautions in work and at home we can collectively work to reduce the misery of back pain."
The prevalence of work-related back conditions is fairly even across the counties and regions of Great Britain, with around one person in every hundred affected. Only the North East has a clearly higher rate, perhaps due to its history of coalmining and other heavy industry.
Lord Hunt added:
"The financial impact of back pain is enormous so our message to everyone is clear - a bad back could cost you more than you think.
"There is a misconception that preventative health and safety initiatives are costly and difficult to implement, but in fact many are extremely cost-effective and will save businesses from losing revenue through staff absenteeism, as well as increasing productivity."
The HSE is running a major national initiative this summer focussed on reducing the incidence of back pain at work. Currently manual handling is a major cause of back injury. As many as one in six work-related sickness absences are due to bad backs - bad both for people and for business. The overall aim of the Backs! 2005 initiative is to promote the use of lifting and handling aids as a means of reducing the incidence of back injuries at work.
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