Occupational Health Support Package
Comprehensive employee health and safety support services
Management Referrals
New-Starter Health Screenings
Health Surveillance
Reasonable Adjustments Advice
What is Occupational Health?
Occupational health is all about managing and promoting your team’s health and wellbeing at work. It’s not just about keeping people on the job—it’s about making sure they’re fit for their roles and have the support they need to tackle any health risks head-on. By looking after both physical and mental health, occupational health helps create a workplace where everyone can be their best, day in and day out.
Key services of occupational health include:
- Management referrals: Offering expert advice and assessments for employees referred by management, addressing any health concerns that could be affecting their performance or attendance. Sometimes, just a bit of tailored support can make all the difference.
- New-starter health screenings: Checking in on the health of new employees to ensure they’re fit for their roles from the start. This helps identify any potential adjustments needed to support their wellbeing, setting them up for success right from day one.
- Health surveillance: Keeping a close eye on the health of employees who are exposed to certain risks, like noise or hazardous substances. This isn’t just about ticking boxes—it’s about ensuring everyone stays safe and compliant with legal requirements.
Finding it challenging to manage occupational health and wellbeing in your business? Medigold Protect provides straightforward, easy-to-understand solutions designed to keep your workforce in good health and your business running efficiently.
When you proactively manage employee health and wellbeing you get a…
Why is Occupational Health Important?
Occupational health is vital for reducing sickness absence, boosting productivity, and improving employee morale. By ensuring employees are healthy and supported, businesses can minimise disruptions, maintain high levels of engagement, and create a positive work environment.
Key reasons why occupational health is important include:
- Reduced sickness absence: Effective occupational health strategies can significantly lower the number of sickness days. In 2021*, UK businesses lost an average of 4.6 days per worker due to sickness absence, costing valuable time and resources.
- Increased productivity: Healthy employees are more engaged and productive, contributing to better business outcomes. Addressing health issues early can prevent longer-term problems that may impact performance.
- Enhanced employee morale: When employees feel their wellbeing is valued, morale improves. The CIPD* reports that 61% of employers have seen increased engagement and satisfaction through health and wellbeing programmes.
- Positive workplace culture: A focus on occupational health fosters a supportive environment, leading to higher retention rates and a stronger organisational culture.
Investing in occupational health not only benefits employees but also strengthens your business, making it more resilient and successful.
What is occupational health responsible for?
Occupational health is responsible for safeguarding the health, safety, and wellbeing of your employees in the workplace. It’s more than just ticking boxes—it’s about truly understanding the needs of your team and ensuring they have the support they need to thrive, both physically and mentally.
Key responsibilities of occupational health include:
- Management referrals – Carrying out assessments and providing expert recommendations when employees are referred by management due to health concerns affecting their job – because a bit of expert guidance can have a significant impact.
- New-starter health screenings – Making sure new employees are in good health and ready to take on their roles, and identifying any adjustments needed to support their wellbeing and get them off to a great start.
- Health surveillance – Keeping a close watch on employees who are exposed to workplace hazards, like loud noise or chemicals, to detect early signs of work-related health issues and take action promptly.
- Workplace vaccination programmes – Offering vaccinations to shield your team from job-related illnesses, such as flu or hepatitis, which is particularly important in industries with higher health risks.
- Ergonomic workstation reviews: Reviewing workstations and tasks to minimise the risk of musculoskeletal problems and ensure your team can work comfortably and efficiently without physical discomfort.
Occupational health isn’t just a service; it’s a partnership in ensuring your team can do their best work while feeling supported and valued. After all, a healthy and safe workforce is the foundation of a successful business.
Why choose Medigold Protect for occupational health?
Medigold Protect offers a handy, subscription-based model that’s been crafted specifically for small to medium-sized businesses, making high quality occupational health services accessible to all, no matter your size.
Here’s why Medigold Protect is the perfect fit for your needs:
- Tailored support for SMEs – Medigold Protect understands the unique challenges faced by small and medium-sized businesses. Our services are scalable and adaptable, ensuring that you receive the exact level of occupational health support that fits your business.
- Comprehensive health services: With Medigold Protect, you have access to a wide range of occupational health services whenever you need them. From initial health assessments to ongoing support, we ensure that your employees receive timely and effective care.
- Expert medical assessments: Our specialist clinics provide expert guidance and medical assessments, helping to address health concerns quickly and efficiently. This ensures your employees receive the best care and advice, leading to faster recovery times.
- Smooth return to work: We offer expert advice on making reasonable adjustments for employees returning to work after illness or injury. Our tailored recommendations help facilitate a smooth and supportive transition back into the workplace.
- Managerial support resources: Medigold Protect equips your management team with the tools and resources needed to effectively handle sickness absence. From practical guides to training materials, we ensure your managers are well-prepared to support their teams.
- Improved productivity and wellbeing: By choosing Medigold Protect, your business benefits from expert occupational health management, which contributes to improved productivity, enhanced employee wellbeing, and a more efficient workplace overall.
Medigold Protect is the perfect solution for businesses looking to prioritise employee health while keeping costs manageable and services accessible.
Want to find out more?
The health and safety of our employees is a core value at Tensar. Signing up to Medigold Health Protect has given us the support and resources to help put the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees at the forefront of our priorities.
Jamie Thompson-Hoadley
HR Business Partner at Tensar
At West Burton Energy the health and wellbeing of our employees is extremely important to us. The service that Medigold Health Protect provides forms an integral part of our corporate wellbeing strategy and it’s reassuring from both a business and employee perspective to have such a great service in place.
Sam Beckett
HR Manager at West Burton Energy
Our specialist team can help!
Get in touch today by filling in the contact form below or give us a call on 0330 390 3370 to find out how we can support your business.
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FAQs
What can occupational health help with?
Occupational health helps with a wide range of workplace-related health issues. It focuses on maintaining and promoting employee wellbeing by managing sickness absence, conducting health risk assessments, providing mental health support, and ensuring that employees are fit to perform their roles safely. Additionally, occupational health services offer advice on workplace adjustments, vaccination programmes, and ongoing health surveillance for employees exposed to specific risks.
What are the different types of occupational health?
There are several types of occupational health services, each tailored to meet different workplace needs:
Compliance services: Ensuring that workplaces comply with health and safety regulations, including providing vaccinations and monitoring employee health in high-risk environments.
Preventive services: These include health risk assessments, ergonomic evaluations, and health surveillance to identify and mitigate potential workplace hazards.
Supportive services: This encompasses mental health support, fitness for work assessments, and advice on returning to work after illness or injury.
Reactive services: This involves responding to health incidents or concerns, such as managing sickness absence or addressing work-related stress.
Is occupational health part of the NHS?
Occupational health services are not typically provided as part of standard NHS care. However, the NHS does offer occupational health services to its own employees. For businesses and organisations outside of the NHS, occupational health services are usually offered by private providers or specialist occupational health companies like Medigold. These services can be customised to meet the specific needs of the organisation.
What does occupational health check for?
Occupational health checks are designed to assess an employee’s physical and mental fitness for their specific role. These checks may include:
Management referrals: Assessing employees who are referred by management due to health concerns affecting their work performance or attendance, and providing expert advice on how to manage these issues effectively.
Health surveillance: Ongoing monitoring for employees in roles that expose them to specific risks, ensuring early detection and management of potential health issues.
Physical health assessments: Evaluating factors like blood pressure, vision, hearing, and overall physical health to ensure the employee can safely perform their job.
Mental health evaluations: Assessing psychological wellbeing and providing support for issues like stress, anxiety, or depression.
Workplace exposure monitoring: Checking for any adverse health effects from exposure to workplace hazards, such as chemicals, noise, or repetitive strain.
Fitness for work assessments: Determining if an employee is fit to return to work after illness or injury and recommending any necessary workplace adjustments.
*Office for National Statistics (ONS) – Sickness absence in the UK labour market: 2021
ONS Sickness Absence Data
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) – Health and Wellbeing at Work Report 2021
CIPD Health and Wellbeing Report
