Council for Work & Health

Time for Change: Kevin Bampton’s Call to Reform Occupational Health

29th March 2025

Time for Change: Kevin Bampton’s Call to Reform Occupational Health

At this year’s Ruth Alston Memorial Lecture, our board director, Kevin Bampton delivered a thought-provoking speech on the state of modern-day Occupational Health and Hygiene. He argued that, despite advancements in medicine and workplace safety, the UK faces challenges in establishing a comprehensive occupational health system that effectively prevents illness and injury.

He started off his lecture with this reflection:

“There is a country where the state provides and mandates that you have a health care worker within work teams. They provide free medicine and free prescription. They have a generous system of time off from work if you’re feeling ill. And they also have a really, really effective record keeping system. So which country do you think this is?” It was Ancient Egypt, 2500 years ago.

Drawing on various historical comparisons, Bampton highlighted how ancient Egyptian workers benefited from structured health provisions and yet, as he says, “3000 years later we are still scratching our heads about these things”. In contrast, modern occupational health practices in the UK have evolved alongside economic shifts, the introduction of the NHS who will pick up the ill and injured and ‘fix it’, privatisation, and regulatory changes, leading to a more fragmented approach.

He described the relationship between public health and workplace safety regulations, noting that greater alignment could support better health outcomes for workers. He also discussed how access to health data and early detection of occupational illnesses play a key role in improving workplace well-being.

Bampton shared examples of workplace health risks and the importance of ensuring that protective measures are in place to safeguard workers. He suggested that adopting aspects of the Finnish model—where employers have a legal duty to prevent workplace illness and facilitate early detection—could help strengthen occupational health frameworks in the UK. He made an interesting point about the lack of empowerment individuals have over their own health data and the disconnect this has to manage their health when they visit a GP for example.

His speech provided valuable insights into the historical, ‘what once was an effective occupational health model’ and the future alignment of occupational health, emphasising the need for continued focus on prevention, accountability (government and regulators included), and worker well-being. he ended with this statement: “whether we look at three thousand years BC or current 21st Century, it doesn’t matter, it’s time for change”.

This synopsis is written by Mandy Murphy, Board Director at Council for Work and Health

Helping women thrive in work: making women’s and reproductive health a key priority

Briefing on Helping Women Thrive in Work

Helping women thrive in work: making women’s and reproductive health a key priority

The CIPD and SOM have created the open letter below to Alison McGovern, MP regarding Women’s Health at Work.    If you wish to sign the letter please contact Claire Mathys on claire.mathys@impactpolicy.co.uk;

Alison McGovern MP
Department for Work and Pensions Caxton House
Tothill Street
London SW1H 9NA

Dear Alison McGovern,

Women’s and reproductive health in the workplace

March 2025

We are writing to you about the need for Government action to help women thrive in the workplace through better support of their health or reproductive challenges, which not only affect their wellbeing but holds back economic growth.

Many women drop out of the workforce or are held back from career development due to health or reproductive issues, such as menopause transition, fertility challenges, pregnancy and baby loss, and musculoskeletal disorders and mental health issues which disproportionately affect women. Yet this is not inevitable and much can be done to improve support for women in the workplace, increasing economic participation as well as reducing gender inequality.

The NHS Confederation report, Women’s Health Economics: investing in the 51%, highlights the significant economic impact of neglecting women’s health. It highlights that inadequate support for conditions like menopause, endometriosis, and severe period pain costs the UK economy nearly £11 billion annually and unemployment due to menopause symptoms alone results in a £1.5 billion annual loss, with around 60,000 women affected.

However, with supportive employer policies, appropriate healthcare and better societal awareness many of the problems can be tackled, keeping more women in productive work in which they can thrive and progress.

We, the undersigned, are committed to playing our part in this mission and ask you to take action by:

  1. Launching a review of women’s and reproductive health in the workplace to identify the economic opportunities for strengthening support, guidance and enforcement of current regulations, followed by an action plan;
  2. Initiating a high-profile campaign to motivate and give confidence to employers to develop working environments that provide understanding, flexibility and occupational health support for women’s health issues across the life course; and
  3. Widening access to occupational health services for those in and out of work to support people to remain in, or return to, appropriate work in which they can manage their health conditions.

These actions would help to increase the economic participation of women and further the Government’s ambitious growth agenda and 80% employment target, opening up new opportunities for women so they can manage their work and health and thrive in the workplace.

We would be delighted to meet with you to discuss this further and look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,
[names of Parliamentarians, logos of organisations]

 

 

 

Shifting the dial on work as a health outcome for the benefit of Work, Health, and Skills (webinar – 19 November 2024)

Shifting the dial on work as a health outcome for the benefit of Work, Health, and Skills (webinar – 19 November 2024)

We held a webinar on 19 November 2024 to consider the above topic.

Chaired by Dr. Steve Boorman, the chair of the Council for Work and Health, the panel included Julie Denning PhD, Chartered Health Psychologist (VRA), Nicola Neath (BACP), and Janet O’Neill (NSOH) (NSOH).

It was a fascinating conversation and included the following subjects:

  • Rehabilitation and the work agenda
  • Improving Workplace Culture and Health
  • Improving Workplace Management and support
  • Addressing Mental Health and return to work practices
  • Breaking silos in healthcare support
  • Balancing work and health for successful return to work programmes
  • Benefits system and mental health.

The key question we all addressed here is “what’s needs to be different this time round, when work as a health outcome is back on the national agenda?”

I am pleased to provide you with a link to the recording and Comments and Links from Zoom Chat added to the chat box during our webinar. There are many links shared today which may also be of interest.

Recording is here.

As you can imagine, there will be a lot more conversation to be had in this space, particularly as the Joint Health and Work Unit launch their ‘Round Table’ event in early 2025, which we will be chairing and we look forward to continuing the conversation further, in this platform and on others. We will keep our council members informed of all events and dates as they are confirmed.

Please do share our webinar from today within your networks where you feel the conversation is relevant.

ACPOHE Study Day 2024 – THRIVING IN THE WORKPLACE – 29 November 2024

Friday 29 November 2024, 
Flokk
31 Great Sutton Street
Clerkenwell
London. ECIV 0NA
We’re delighted to let you know that tickets for our Study Day 2024 at FLOKK, London, are still available! This is a full day of CPD for just £75 (£125 for non-members)
Space is limited, so get your ticket now to secure your place. Everyone is welcome!

 

This year’s theme is THRIVING IN THE WORKPLACE,  exploring some lesser talked about conditions that can influence work and health.  Join us to discover strategies to empower individuals to thrive in their professional environments. 
There will be plenty of opportunity for networking and the afternoon will be filled with workshops where you can interact with industry experts to help you work through those tricky conversations around cancer, pelvic pain and rheumatoid arthritis.
 
Click on the link below to see full details about the day including booking your ticket, how to submit a poster presentation and how to get to the venue. 

ACPOHE Research Café –  Showing the value of occupational health physiotherapy – 24 October 2024

Date: Thursday 24th October 2024
Time: 12:00 – 13:00
Location: Teams webinar
Speakers: Paul Shawcross, Lina Chauhan.
Everyone is welcome! Please share this invitation with your colleagues and friends. The webinar is free to attend.
Click on the link below to read more and register for the Research Cafe:
https://acpohe.csp.org.uk/news-events/events/events-listing/acpohe-research-cafe-showing-value-occupational-health

WHEC WEBINAR: Assessment of evidence of welding fume as carcinogenic to humans. (Thursday 7 December 2023)

WHEC will be presenting their findings on the strength of the evidence on the carcinogenicity of welding fume.

Seminar:

13:00-14:00  7th December: Assessment of the strength of evidence underpinning the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reclassification of welding fume as carcinogenic to humans.

Join us via Teams at 13:00 Thursday 7th December.

Register here: https://forms.office.com/e/5HrDx9L40C

Please note: this seminar will be recorded and made available with captions after the event.

There will be a short question and answer session with the WHEC speakers at the end of the seminar.

About this event

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reviewed the data on the carcinogenicity of welding fume. HSE requested the opinion of the Workplace Health Expert Committee (WHEC) who will be presenting their latest findings on the strength of the evidence, particularly on whether a distinction should be made between fumes from different types of metal or different processes. WHEC concluded that all welding fumes cause lung cancer and possibly kidney cancer, and that it is not possible to identify specific welding processes or base metals that give rise to this risk. UV exposure from arc welding processes causes melanoma in the eye and may also increase the risk of skin cancer.

“The increased risk of lung cancer in welders is well recognised, but until recently it was considered a risk primarily of stainless steel welding, as well as bystander exposures, particularly to asbestos. This WHEC review of recent published scientific evidence has confirmed the conclusions of a recent IARC report that the increased risk of lung cancer is unlikely to be limited to these exposures and that no distinction can be made between different types of welding or the different metals welded in increasing the risk of lung cancer. The important implication is that in implementing measures to control levels of exposure to welding fume no distinction can be made between different welding processes or the metals welded.”

Professor Sir Anthony Newman-Taylor, Chair WHEC.

Download the report here: Assessment of the strength of evidence underpinning the IARC reclassification of welding fume as carcinogenic to humans

Speakers: Workplace Health Expert Committee (WHEC)

The development of policy in HSE needs to be informed by the best available contemporary scientific evidence.

HSE formed WHEC to provide independent expert advice on:

  • new and emerging workplace health issues
  • new and emerging evidence relating to existing workplace health issues
  • the quality and relevance of the evidence base on workplace health issues

Find out more about Workplace Health Expert Committee (WHEC) here: WHEC

Speakers:

John Cherrie is Emeritus Professor of Human Health at Heriot Watt University and former Research Director at the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Edinburgh. He has been an exposure scientist since 1979, in a wide range of research and teaching. John is a member of the WHEC and the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council. He has carried out several research projects on welding fume exposure.

Len Levy OBE is Emeritus Professor of Environmental Health at the University of Cranfield. Prior to this he was Head of Toxicology and Risk Assessment at the UK Medical Research Council’s Institute for Environment and Health at the University of Leicester.

He is an occupational and environmental toxicologist and risk assessor, and holds a PhD in experimental pathology from the Institute of Cancer Research in London. He has held academic positions at the University of Aston and the University of Birmingham’s Institute of Occupational Health, where he was Reader in Occupational Health, continuing his research into the causes and mechanisms of occupational cancer.

Other communications activity (articles etc):

  1. Cherrie JW, Levy L: Managing Occupational Exposure to Welding Fume: New Evidence Suggests a More Precautionary Approach is Needed. Ann Work Expo Health 2020, 64(1):1-4.

ACPOHE Webinar: DisAbility Series – Neurodiversity in the Workplace – 13 December 2023

Registration is now open for the fourth of our ACPOHE/DisAbility webinars which will be about Neurodivergence in the workplace.

The webinar will cover what neurodivergence is, lived experience examples, problems & barriers encountered in the workplace, and solutions. This will include how we can make the OH experience more accessible for a Neurodivergent service user.

Neurodiversity in the Workplace

Date: Wednesday 13th December 2023

Time: 13:00 – 14:00

Theme: Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

Location: Teams webinar

Speakers: Greet Janssens, Angela Webster, Steph Phillips

Everyone is welcome! Please share this invitation with your colleagues and friends. The webinar is free and will be recorded. A link will be made available afterwards on our webinars page for you to watch if you can’t make it.

Link for more info and registration: https://acpohe.csp.org.uk/news-events/events/events-listing/acpohe-webinar-neurodiversity-workplace-131223

More and more employers are recognising their responsibility for employee health and well-being, but there needs to be a bigger shift towards prevention. To achieve a healthy workplace an employer needs to ensure that its culture, leadership and people management are the bedrock on which to build a fully integrated well-being approach.

Rachel Suff Senior Policy Adviser (Employment Relations), CIPD