A healthy workforce is a productive workforce. As an employer you have a duty of care to protect your employees health and wellbeing.

The Growth Hub has some guides and toolkits to help you achieve this.

Coronavirus (Covid -19)

Guidance for Employers and Businesses

Public Health England has created a number of pieces of guidance, including a section for employers and businesses in relation to the ongoing novel coronavirus situation.

The current guidance can be found here. Please be aware this is a rapidly changing situation and only official channels can be reliably used to be kept up-to-date.

There is also guidance for members of the public here.

Guidance for health professionals here

What you need to know from Public health England here

Information from the NHS here

Mental health toolkit for employers

Mental health is an integral part of how we feel about our jobs, how well we perform and how well we interact with colleagues, customers and clients. With 1 in 6 employees currently experiencing mental health problems, mental health is an essential business concern. There is a strong relationship between levels of staff wellbeing and motivation and performance. Taking a positive, proactive approach to mental health at work can help you grow your staff and your organisation.

Download mental_health_toolkit_for_employers

Musculoskeletal health in the workplace a toolkit for employers

Good musculoskeletal (MSK) health is integral to a full working life. It supports us with functional mobility and dexterity, balance and co-ordination, and contributes to muscular strength and endurance; essential to nearly all forms of work. It also enables us to stay physically and mentally fit and reduce the occurrence of other health problems.
Action should be taken at all ages to invest in enhancing education, awareness and opportunities to engage in understanding good MSK health and how to reduce the risks of developing an MSK problem. Employers have a legal duty to provide safe workplaces that do not damage an employee’s health, and a key part of this is considering risk around MSK.

Download musculoskeletal_toolkit

Health and Wellbeing in the workplace

Work can have a positive impact on our health and wellbeing. Healthy and well-motivated employees can have an equally positive impact on the productivity and effectiveness of a business.
This booklet helps you to understand the interaction between health and wellbeing and work by focusing on:

• the relationships between line managers and employees
• the importance of getting employees involved
• job design, flexible working and the use of occupational health.

Download Health-work-and-wellbeing

New advice hub to help disabled people understand their rights at work
Government backs employment rights for disabled workers as part of National Disability Strategy.

Details here

The Business in the Community Workwell Model is a great resource for businesses to implement a proactive strategy in the workplace. On the  website you can find out how you can provide healthy choices, a healthy environment, specialist skills and social opportunities for your employees.

Work and Cancer

Employees with cancer are classified as disabled and are protected from discrimination in the workplace by the Equality Act 2010. The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and its extension.Discrimination happens when an employee is treated less favourably than another person because of their disability.

Cancer affects people emotionally, financially and physically. If you’re an employer you can support staff through training, policy development and resources. In the UK, over 700,000 people of working age are living with cancer. Managers play a fundamental role in supporting employees affected by cancer.

Making small changes to your employee’s working arrangements can make a big difference. It can help them settle back into work successfully.

Your employee’s ability to work may change after a cancer diagnosis. To support them, it’s helpful to understand how treatment may affect them.

After treatment they will be well monitored by the health service and are entitled to time off work for the hospital appointments.

Macmillian Cancer support  provides help and guidence for employers to manage cancer in the workplace.

Employing disabled people and people with health conditions

This government guidance provides a summary of information for employers to help:

• Increase their understanding of disability
• Enable them recruit and support disabled people and those with long term health conditions in work
• Help with employing disabled people
• Help towards costs
• Disability employment law
• Advice on specific health conditions
• Guidence from various health organisations
• Toolkits

It has links to other resources to enable employers to become more confident when attracting, recruiting and retaining disabled people.

Employing disabled people and people with health conditions website

Health and Safety in the Workplace

If your an employer who wants some basic information on what you need to do to make sure your business complies with health and safety law then check out this “Health and Safety made simple” page – http://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-s

This Booklet answers some basic questions about first-aid provision at work.

It is aimed at employers in small and medium-sized workplaces, but may be useful to all employers, managers and others involved in first aid at work.

Download First Aid at work

GO HOME HEALTHY

Everyone should go home healthy from work. Do the right thing by protecting your workers’ health.

Visit the Go Home Healthy website to find out more details and download tool kits to help protect your employees heath.

Centre For Ageing Better

Employers must consider mental health and wellbeing for their older workers if they are to ensure they create an environment where everyone can feel at ease. Older employees face a unique set of challenges in the workplace that put them at risk of mental health issues. 
Visit the Centre for Ageing Better website