Equality Bill
The House of Commons has just approved the Lords’ amendments to the Equality Bill, which has now completed its passage through Parliament. The Bill will receive Royal Assent in the next few days. A review of the major changes affecting occupational health and disability at work is included in the April/May edition of Occupational Health at Work.
http://services.parliament.uk

MSD tool
The HSE has unveiled a new tool to help employers reduce the likelihood of their employees suffering from musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) of the upper limbs associated with repetitive tasks. The Assessment of Repetitive Tasks (ART) tool, developed by the HSE and Health and Safety Laboratory, can help to identify where significant risks lie, suggest where to focus risk reduction measures and help prioritise improvements.
www.hse.gov.uk

NHS absence
The Department of Health has announced plans to slash absence rates, saving the NHS up to £555 million. Overall, the DoH aims to deliver £4.35 billion to help the government achieve £11 billion savings by 2012/13 from improved efficiency in the public sector. The DoH says it will deliver £3.5 billion of its target through improving staff productivity, improving staff health and well-being and reducing dependency on agency staff.
http://nds.coi.gov.uk

Occupational allergies
The British Occupational Health Research Foundation has launched two evidence-based guidelines on occupational contact dermatitis and on occupational asthma – the latter updating previous guidance from 2004. Both systematic evidence reviews are accompanied by summary pamphlets for OH and H&S professionals; GPs and practice nurses; and employers, workers and their representatives.
www.bohrf.org.uk

Health for healthcare workers
The Department of Health (DoH) has set out a framework for action on improving the health of healthcare workers. Invisible patients – the report of the working group on the health of health professionals was commissioned as part of the ongoing work to implement the 2007 White Paper on the regulation of health professionals.
www.dh.gov.uk

Doing your bit
The HSE is encouraging employers to get their employees involved in health and safety in a bid to reduce injury and ill health. The regulator’s ‘Do your bit’ campaign is a 12-month initiative that includes free or subsidised health and safety training courses and a dedicated website providing practical advice to help organisations get their staff more involved in H&S issues that affect them. The campaign will initially target employers in the construction, manufacturing, transport and motor vehicle repair sectors.
www.hse.gov.uk/doyourbit

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