A message to all who run businesses – we can all cope with change however not everyone copes well with the anticipation of change.
This piece advocates for preparation, not panic!
Firstly, it is important to understand that the proposed Bill is not the beginning and end of changes and that the driver behind all of this is the new Government’s “Make Work Pay” approach, the latest paper of which can be found here:
Taking this substantial policy shift one piece at a time though, some elements will have a direct effect on the role of OH, some will be indirect and others will be a more gradual passive, but still significant, influence on the way businesses interface with workers’ health – be it occupational or otherwise.
Day 1 Unfair Dismissal Rights
The fear of a sharp upturn in Unfair Dismissal claims is likely to be unfounded. Yes, the qualifying period of two years is being abolished but the proposed nine-month probationary period with a light touch process to ensure that dismissal is fair most probably will balance this out.
From an OH perspective a sensible approach would involve a more thorough and diligent process to recruiting staff and this will mean better pre-placement assessments from the OH perspective. Too often we see staff who are placed in roles which are incompatible with health conditions (remembering that companies would do well to very much up their game in terms of addressing the prevalence of mental health problems in their workforce).
Flexible Working
Whilst the current right to request flexible working from day 1 will be strengthened, there are also 8 different grounds for refusing such a request – again demonstrating that this is not just a one-way street for employees to advance demands but that there is a way of balancing requests.
For every role and for every worker there is an OH consideration. That is a fact. Start changing roles, swapping workers between flexible shifts more and consider reorganising work to accommodate requests for flexible working and there will inevitably be health and OH consequences to consider.
Have the Equality Act very much in your visibility as this legislation will not have changed when these proposed new employment rights come into effect in Autumn 2026 (at the earliest).
Sick Pay
Claiming SSP from day 1 rather than day 4 may not seem like a big deal but multiply that across a company or an industry and the financial effects will be substantial.
The real issue here is that rates of sickness absence, which were progressively decreasing for the twenty years pre-pandemic, have taken a sharp upturn; 185.6 million working days are lost in the UK annually (ONS) with 29.3% of absences due to “minor” illnesses. Cynically this could mean a minor illness lasting longer more frequently…
There are two principal stages for OH to evolve here and for companies and workers to benefit:
Stage 1: Prevention. Happy staff who feel valued are less likely to take time off and better health assistance and genuinely valuing the wellbeing of workers rather than paying simple lip service will make a difference.
Stage 2: Cure. Rapid response and intervention from OH services are more likely to assist and enable a worker to return to work. The longer an employee is absent the more challenges evolve in the employer/employee interaction which can, at worse, become oppositional.
D4Health is lead by a team who are medically and legally qualified to provide that global understanding to the issues which employers face.