Almost half of the UK workforce lack access to workplace health support including winter flu vaccinations and checks for cardiovascular diseases, a report has found.
The analysis, by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), looked at data from the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (DBEIS) and found that more than 10 million UK workers lack access to services including basic health checks, vaccinations, and smoking or weight loss support, provided by their employer.
The report found that the UK’s current workplace health system could further exacerbate existing health inequalities, given that people in lower paid industries, such as hospitality and agriculture, are even less likely to have access to health protection interventions at work.
A common type of health check used by employers is an NHS-run programme that checks for signs of conditions such as cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.
The paper calls for the government to establish a national health and work standard that would establish a minimum level of support, to which employees should be entitled. It says that encouraging better welfare and health practices within workplaces would help to reduce the economic cost of ill health, which is estimated to be around £100bn a year.
William Roberts, the chief executive of the RSPH, said: “We are at a critical time for our nation’s health. Millions of people are leaving the workforce due to ill-health. It costs us tens of billions every year. It also puts an additional strain on our health service leaving people languishing on waiting lists.
“The employment rights bill is a big step in the right direction, but we need to go further and quicker. We spend a great deal of our adult lives in and around the workplace. We need to think about how we use our workplaces to build health, keep people well, and prevent people being signed off sick.
“As it stands, our workplaces are exacerbating health inequalities. This means that millions of people that would most benefit from workplace health support are missing out. We know that businesses want to do more to build healthy workplaces and support their employees. This report sets out a clear and actionable set of recommendations that will make a real impact if implemented by policymakers.”
The Department of Health and Social Care has been approached for comment.