Fines and penalties for ‘unhealthy’ employers?
Fines and penalties for ‘unhealthy’ employers?
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) wants to see regulatory action taken against employers who don’t provide ‘healthy’ work conditions, those that have “unacceptable” levels of employee ill-health. Measures would include fines and public exposure.
The argument comes as part of the think-tank’s work on health and prosperity in the UK, and concerns around the cost of benefit payments for people not working because of long-term health conditions. What’s the point of the NHS trying to make employees well, when they’re just going to be sent back into places that make them sick again? The pressure on employers, says the IPPR, would help deal with problems with obesity and rising numbers of cases involving anxiety and depression.
Penalise or incentivise?
In his response, Sir Cary Cooper has called for more incentives to help organisations create healthier workplaces rather than more regulations on punishment for employers.
“There are 2.8 million people in the UK who are out of the workplace with long-term sickness and 53% of them are off with stress, anxiety and depression. These are the leading causes of long-term sickness absence, not only in the UK, but in every developed country.
“We could do what the IPPR is suggesting and impose fines on companies, but I think using positive incentives would be better,” he said. “For example, the government could reduce national insurance contributions for employers that support a healthy work environment, or encourage health insurers to offer them lower premiums. This makes it a bottom-line issue for businesses.”
Open up together
EAPA UK chair, Karl Bennett said: “Workplace wellbeing has become a major issue for the UK. It’s fundamental to national productivity, to the finances of the NHS, to society as a whole. That means we all have a stake in the wellbeing challenge, and need to be working together rather than looking to blame.”
“Workplaces are as much a source of rewards and fulfilment and motivation as stress and fatty foods. What’s important is honesty, open discussions and attention to the underlying causes of ill-health, physical and mental, and what might lead to unhealthy behaviours. EAP providers will increasingly be important partners in understanding landscapes of health and ill-health, raising awareness of what needs to be done, and introducing a more preventative approach.”