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Section 4: Supporting Employers

Introduction

4.1 The Executive recognises that many employers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises working in highly competitive markets under continual pressure to cut costs, may not instantly identify action to promote Healthy Working Lives as a critical business activity. However, in light of the costs and risks to competitiveness associated with our health and demographic challenges and evidence that employees across both the public and private sectors are increasingly critical of their employers and less satisfied with key issues such as working hours, prospects for promotion, workload and pay, 21 we believe that such a case should and can be made. There is increasing evidence that a broader, more integrated approach to employee health can result in cost savings, higher levels of productivity, improved morale and lower turnover amongst employees. 22

Aim

4.2 Our aim is to inspire and engage employers in the delivery of Healthy Working Lives. This will be an integrated strategy which enables employers across the public, private and voluntary sectors to:

• Ensure a safe and healthy workplace, handle health and safety incidents and take corrective action, where necessary.
• Help meet their obligations under new and existing legislation covering issues such as occupational health and safety, disability discrimination, age, religion and belief, sexual orientation, race and sex discrimination, working time, parental leave and equal opportunities.
• Support the development and implementation of policies for staff covering issues such as childcare, work-life balance, training and development, effective employee support, mental health and substance misuse.
• Create and sustain a positive working culture which might, for example, involve approaches to employee development, communication and participation as well as consideration of job-related factors such as workload, autonomy and control, role clarity, job content, work scheduling and environmental conditions.
• Introduce policies on issues such as smoking and stress management which protect the health of their staff.
• Deliver workplace health promotion programmes as part of a commitment to improving the health of employees and support staff in their efforts to become more active, give up smoking, moderate alcohol consumption, change their diet or make other healthy lifestyle choices.
• Modify workplaces and processes to help people who experience problems with their physical or mental health to enter into employment, remain in and/or return to work. Action might, for example, range from additional investment in specialist computer equipment, through to a decision to reschedule working hours in order to allow access to appropriate medication or treatment services.
• Know how to access appropriate rehabilitation, occupational health and safety and disability support services.
• Offer appropriate employment or self employment opportunities to those for whom health-related problems might be a barrier to formal employment.
• Support training and development of all employees.
• Receive recognition for their achievements.

Approach

4.3 There is already increasing interest within Scotland in Corporate Social Responsibility and the benefits that can flow from an affirmative relationship between business and society. All businesses have influence or power in their community. By using this influence appropriately, a company can not only benefit its local community, but also its own business. Healthy Working Lives defines one approach to delivering such benefits, by suggesting practical action to improve the occupational health and safety of staff and develop an organisational culture which supports diversity and promotes good physical and mental health. This, in turn, offers the potential to improve productivity, increase the attractiveness of an employer to new recruits, maintain a positive corporate reputation amongst customers and other key stakeholders, improve employee satisfaction, and better understand and respond to diverse market places.

4.4 The provisionally-named Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives will be charged with developing and implementing programmes of action which will enable employers to act upon the broad agenda for Healthy Working Lives. It will seek to pilot new approaches including the development of a framework to encourage health screening of employees and pilot projects aimed at assisting employers to allow those who develop health problems to remain in employment. We would also expect to work with partners such as the Health & Safety Executive to develop integrated programmes of action designed specifically for particular industry sectors. This could, for example, see us working to reduce the level and impact of violent attacks on retail staff or tackling musculoskeletal problems within certain professions.

4.5 To be successful, we will need to take the broad, all-encompassing view of health described in this and other health promotion documents and establish it firmly within the business strategies of Scottish employers. This will need to be sustained through communication, partnership working and by re-thinking some of our established approaches to promoting workplace health, so that they reflect this broader agenda. In particular we will require effective working relationships, including referral arrangements and protocols, where appropriate, with a range of third party organisations including:

• The Department for Work and Pensions
• Jobcentre Plus
• The Health and Safety Executive
• NHS and private sector suppliers of occupational health and safety, smoking cessation and other support services
• Respected academics and business schools throughout Scotland and further afield
• Exemplar employers and their representative organisations
• Federation of Small Businesses
• Trade unions
• Voluntary sector and other organisations such as Voluntary Health Scotland, Black and Ethnic Minority Infrastructure Scotland (BEMIS), Alcohol Focus Scotland, Scotland Against Drugs, Scottish Drugs Forum, ASH Scotland, Men's Health Forum, the See Me campaign and others responsible for promoting relevant issues
• Disability services
• Vocational training and lifelong learning advisory bodies.

4.6 We face the challenge of getting our message across to employers who often find themselves overloaded with information and advice. This will require a real understanding of the competing pressures on employers and a commitment to base any advice upon the evidence of what is likely to work and a business case which supports an investment of time or money by the employer. It will necessitate the development of a consistent lead brand to replace the different brands currently in operation and the ability to make advice accessible through a range of channels including telephone helplines, internet or intranets and where appropriate, field-based advisors.

4.7 By integrating existing programmes in this way we expect that the new Centre will be able to further raise the profile, reach and impact of workplace health promotion programmes. Our intention is to offer a comprehensive range of advice on workplace health and health promotion, including relevant guidance and support on developing and implementing policies on key health issues. It will also build on the success of Scotland's Health at Work (SHAW) by seeking to expand the current framework so that it reflects the broad definition of health which underpins this document.

4.8 The Centre will also be expected to develop or access competence in research and evidence gathering. This will allow us to inform future policy development and enable employers to make informed choices about investing in workplace health. We have recognised from the outset that we need to build a clear business case for Healthy Working Lives and believe that a rigorous approach to evaluation, a proactive commitment to disseminating evidence and a willingness amongst Scottish employers to share their experiences, will all help to enhance the international evidence base that already supports such a case.

Actions

4.9 We will agree a series of specific pilot projects to test proactive engagement to promote Healthy Working Lives in particular industry sectors and amongst groups of workers with specific occupational health and safety challenges, including socioeconomic deprivation.

4.10 As part of the National Programme's Action Plan on Mental Health 2003-06, we will develop pilot projects on job retention for people who develop mental health problems based on successful work in Bristol and Avon.

4.11 We will refresh published guidance on workplace health and safety issues as an early priority within our marketing strategy and extend the range of available guidance to reflect the extended scope of the strategy for Healthy Working Lives.

4.12 We will appoint an employability co-ordinator whose role it will be to provide an effective link between Scottish employers and the range of voluntary and statutory groups working to promote employment and self employment of those with health-related problems.

4.13 We will review the qualifying criteria for the current SHAW awards in light of the broader direction and priorities identified within this plan and related health improvement strategies. As part of this process we will also revisit how the success of the SHAW framework can best be measured in the workplace setting.

4.14 We will review the international evidence base on Healthy Working Lives and identify future research priorities, including the build up of a library of best practice case studies, in order to raise awareness and develop the business case for the adoption of healthy workplace cultures.

4.15 We will engage directly with the business community and identify additional support that can be given to businesses to introduce effective tobacco policies in order to protect the health of their workforce.

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