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E018:06 20 February 2006
Stress Workshop Tackles
Sickness absence in the police
“Stress is the main cause of sickness absence in the
public sector,” Geoffrey Podger, Chief Executive of the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE), will today tell Human Resource Directors in the police service,
“but there is a growing realisation that it can be tackled effectively.”
The workshop is looking at the underlying causes of stress, and how these
can be identified before people’s working lives are affected. Representatives
of 38 police forces are attending the event.
Geoffrey Podger said: “It is important that stress is taken seriously across
the public sector. I am particularly keen to work closely with key stakeholders
such as the police, as I believe this is a very good way of achieving mutual
aims.
“Police forces have achieved a great deal in terms of reducing sickness absence
in recent years. This workshop aims to give useful information and practical
advice based on HSE’s Management Standards for stress, a tool designed to
help both employers and employees manage the problem sensibly.”
Allyn Thomas, ACPO lead on absence and Assistant Chief Constable of Kent
Police, said: “The police service in England and Wales is committed to working
with the Health and Safety Executive to reduce absence. An emerging area
of work concerns the impact of stress upon employees. This workshop is an
opportunity to consider evidence and best practice and to agree how to make
further progress.”
Jan Berry, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said:
“Unlike many forms of illness and physical injury, stress is not easily diagnosed
or recognised. For those who have not experienced the debilitating nature
of the condition, it can be extremely hard to understand. Police officers
are trained to cope with a variety of high-pressure situations, but it is
important to remember that they are human and that it is the combination
of their training and their humanity that enables them to perform effectively.
It is vitally important that chief officers do all they can to minimise the
impact of stress as much as possible and provide support where necessary,
which is why workshops such as these are so important.”
Notes to Editors
The workshop, organised in partnership between HSE, ACPO and the CIPD Police
Forum, is being held on 20 and 21 February at the Marriott Hotel, Manchester
Airport. Representatives from 38 of the 51 police forces in Great Britain
are attending the event.
HSE’s stress Management Standards, launched in 2004, give employers steps
to follow to identify stress at an early stage and a simple guide to possible
measures that can be taken to reduce the problem before it gets to the point
of staff absence. Further information on work-related stress, including details
of the Management Standards, are available on the HSE website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/index.htm
Statistics on the prevalence of work-related stress are available at http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/stress.htm
The CIPD’s latest annual absence management survey found that stress is the
biggest cause of long-term absence amongst non-manual workers in the public
sector. Details of the survey are available at http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/hrpract/absence/absmagmt.htm
Information on radiation safety can be obtained from HSE’s website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/radiation/index.htm
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