Work, health and disability 



In October 2016, the government published its work, health and disability green paper, Improving Lives. This contains proposals to support disabled people and people with long-term health conditions to get a job and stay in work. It also applies to people in work, with proposals to improve health promotion, prevent sickness absence, enable prompt returns to work and improve the operation of the GP fit note scheme to support workers back into their jobs faster and for longer.


Unions support a national occupational health service as part of the NHS – primary care provided by mainstream healthcare provision extended to integrate occupational health – as well as a properly resourced Employment Medical Advisory Service (EMAS), the medical arm of the HSE. According to the TUC, around 1.2 million workers suffer an illness they believe is caused or made worse by their work and over 23 million working days are lost annually due to work related illness. But only one in eight workers can currently access an occupational health doctor.


Professionals’ union Prospect called for “significantly greater resources to encourage rehabilitation schemes to help disabled workers return to work”. The union reported “welcome developments” it has negotiated with employers, including the “wellness action recovery plan” (WARP), which helps individuals and their supervisors manage their recovery, and “mental health passports”. The passports avoid the need for potentially distressing conversations having to be repeated when a member of staff is redeployed or a new manager takes over.


The Work, health and disability green paper Improving Lives can be found on the government website. (However, the consultation period has ended.)