Investing in Workplace Health and Safety

A recent report from the British Safety Council has highlighted why investing in health and safety makes sound business sense.

According to the report, the true cost of failures in occupational health and safety to the UK economy amounted to £13.8 billion in 2011/2012, with work related illnesses costing around £8.4 billion.

“At a time when the latest GDP figures show the country slowly returning to economic health, we know that making workers ill and injured hurts all of us,” said Alex Botha, Chief Executive of the British Safety Council. “What this literature review tells us loud and clear is that getting health and safety right makes good business sense and can save organisations money.”

“Take something like work-related back injuries that still plague too many workers,” she added. “Changing the way tasks are carried out to protect people’s backs is an opportunity for an employer to improve the operation and efficiency of their business. The literature review captures one study that shows how a £16,000 investment to tackle back injuries resulted in £192,000 of savings and benefits due to reduced sickness absence, better productivity and lower insurance premia.”

Studies have revealed a number of different benefits of occupational health and safety investment, including a drop in accident and injury rates, lower levels of sickness absence and increased productivity. According to research, around 61% of workers apparently said they would be likely to increase their work efforts if their employer invested in their health.

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