Almost a third (31%) of respondents do not receive occupational health support from their employer, according to research by health and safety organisation Croner.
Its research, which surveyed 2,009 working adults, found there is also a sizeable gap between full-time and part-time employees when it comes to occupational health support.
One in four (28%) full-time respondents do not receive access to occupational health services, but this rises to 42% among part-time respondents.
The research also found:
- 49% of full-time respondents said their employer is proactive in preventing ill health in the workplace, while 38% of part-timers said the same.
- 24% of part-time respondents do not know whether their employer is proactive, while 10% would rather not say.
- 62% of full-time respondents accept that preventing ill health in the workplace is a joint responsibility between the employer and the employee, but this drops to 56% for part-time respondents.
- 30% of part-time respondents expect their employer to shoulder most responsibility for occupational health, compared with 23% of full-time respondents.
- 68% of part-time respondents identify stress as the work-related issues that has the most new cases per year, compared with 59% of full-time respondents.
Stephen Thomas, safety technical consultant at Croner, said: “These findings on occupational health provision raise several concerns.
“Employers have a duty of care to ensure, to a reasonable extent, the health and safety of all their employees, whether they are full or part-time. And that is true for preventing ill health in the workplace as much as for preventing accidents.
“Furthermore, it would seem that a large number of workers are not satisfied with the occupational health services their employer provides. Croner urges employers to consider whether their workforce would benefit from more diverse services by consulting with their workers.
“Occupational health is a business benefit too. Investing in useful, proactive health surveillance, monitoring and support can not only help individuals, but also prevent lost working time and productivity.”