Health & Safety News Brief
Occupational Health & Safety Information Service

Two Million British Workers suffering ill Health

A report published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on 3 August 2006 shows that an estimated two million British workers suffer ill health, which they believe was caused or made worse by work.

The Self reported Work-related Illness survey 2004/2005 indicates that of the two million around 600,000 workers were affected by the illness for the first time in the last year. These figures equated to around 28 million working days lost to the British economy every year.

HSE Chief Executive Geoffrey Podger said, "28 million days is a huge loss to the British economy. HSE is working with employers, trades unions and other government departments to bring this down. In the past year we have launched Workplace Health Connect and the Government more widely launched it's Health Work and Well Being strategy to keep British workers healthy and in work."

Key cases of ill health include:

• Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) are the biggest cause of work-related ill health, around one million people suffering MSDs that they believe was caused or made worse by work
• Stress is the next biggest cause of occupational ill health, around half a million people estimated to be suffering work related stress

In the past 12 months the trend appears to have reversed:

• Around 246,000 new cases of work related stress. Around 206,000 new case of MSDs.

Above average rates for work related illness included health and social welfare, teaching and research professionals and skilled construction and building trades

The full report can be downloaded from www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/swi/swi0405.pdf

More information about MSDs and Stress can be found in Occupational Health & Safety Information Service and also at www.hse.gov.uk/msd/index.htm for MSDs and www.hse.gov.uk/stress/index.htm  for Stress.