Employers urged not to 'moralise' over health issues

Union leaders said more employers were promoting a "healthy lifestyle" by offering stop-smoking or lunchtime exercise classes to staff. However, the TUC said addressing problems such as work-related stress and poor office design would have a much greater impact on improving employee health.

In its submission to Dame Carol Black's review of the health of the working age population, the union organisation said there was a danger that employers would be increasingly seen as "moralising" over lifestyle issues.

For example, the TUC said there was a huge difference between an employer who was keen to introduce choices and working methods to help staff who wanted to control their weight, and the employer who wanted to "force" anyone who they considered overweight to change their eating habits.

It claimed it was the "working environment" that often made staff ill or unhealthy. The TUC submission urged employers to avoid working arrangements that left employees "desk-bound for long periods of time". Similarly, workplaces with poorly managed workloads or where bullying was "rife" could increase employees' stress levels.

"Although healthy food in staff canteens, subsidised gym membership or access to counselling for those with drug or alcohol problems are to be encouraged, yoga classes are no substitute for reducing stress in the workplace," said a TUC spokesperson.

"And while access to fresh fruit is a good thing, it won't be of much use to employees who never get to take a lunch break, nor will gym access be a benefit to those who work late night after night."

'Non-judgemental'

Controversially, the TUC also claimed too many employers in Britain were now "wasting millions" on testing and firing workers for drugs and alcohol related issues.

"Good employers may wish to assist any employees who have an addiction problem that is affecting them or their work," it said. "But employers should not be attempting to interfere in what employees do outside the office if it has no bearing on what goes on at work."

The TUC was keen to stress that drug and alcohol issues were a "concern" for employers, when they "affected the performance of a person in the workplace, or put at risk the safety of workers or the public."

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "The workplace can, like any other environment, be a useful place to encourage people to make healthy choices, but it must be done in a non-judgemental way.

"Employers should be creating opportunities so that staff can make healthier choices should they so chose, rather than try to force them to adopt a particular lifestyle that has no bearing on how they do their jobs."

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