Occupational Health
Health surveillance is a system of ongoing health checks. These health checks may be required by law for employees who are exposed to noise or vibration, ionising radiation, solvents, fumes, dusts, biological agents and other substances hazardous to health, or work in compressed air.
Health surveillance is important for:
- Detecting ill-health effects at an early stage, so employers can introduce better controls to prevent them getting worse
- Providing data to help employers evaluate health risks
- Enabling employees to raise concerns about how work affects their health
- Highlighting lapses in workplace control measures, therefore providing invaluable feedback to the risk assessment
- Providing an opportunity to reinforce training and education of employees (eg on the impact of health effects and the use of protective equipment)
A risk assessment should be used to identify any need for health surveillance. You should not use health surveillance as a substitute for undertaking a risk assessment or using effective controls.
Health surveillance can sometimes be used to help identify where more needs to be done to control risks and where early signs of work-related ill health are detected, employers should take action to prevent further harm and protect employees.
When putting in place a health surveillance programme, avoid blanket coverage for all employees as it can provide misleading results and waste money.
When reading this guidance remember that health surveillance is a particular legal requirement and should not be confused with:
- Activities to monitor health where the effects from work are strongly suspected but cannot be established
- Workplace wellbeing checks, such as promoting healthy living and fitness to work examinations eg fitness to dive, operate cranes, forklift trucks or health assessments requested by night employees
Health surveillance allows for early identification of ill health and helps identify any corrective action needed. Health surveillance may be required by law if your employees are exposed to noise or vibration, solvents, fumes, dusts, biological agents and other substances hazardous to health, or work in compressed air.
We understand that employees are likely to have a number of questions about how and why Occupational Health assessments are requested and carried out.
Below are the answers to some common queries about OH.
If your question is not answered here, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our office.
QUESTIONS? +44 (028) 4426 0105
Frequently Asked Questions?
An Occupational Health Assessment (sometimes called an Employee Health Assessment) provides independent, impartial advice to you and your employer about your health and fitness for work.
The assessment may be performed by an OH professional, a nurse trained in OH or a doctor trained in occupational medicine.
Your HR Adviser or Line Manager will usually have been the one to refer you for the Occupational Health Assessment and will have discussed the purpose of the referral with you.
The benefit to you is that it gives you the opportunity to discuss any health problems with the OH professional, and how these impact on your work.
The OH professional can look at all the circumstances, and provide your employer and you with advice about your health and fitness for work.
If you are unhappy about why you have been referred, or if you do not wish to attend the assessment, then you should discuss this further with your HR Adviser or Line Manager.
Please advise Brian Larkin Safety as soon as possible if you are unable to attend your appointment. If you do not attend your appointment, your employer may have to make decisions about your employment without the benefit of OH advice.
Your consultation with our OH professional is likely to last around 30-60 minutes. The OH professional will ensure that you understand the purpose of the assessment and their role in providing independent, impartial advice.
Your consent will be sought for the assessment to proceed and you will have the opportunity to review the advice of the OH professional and give consent for it to be sent to your employer.
If a medical examination is necessary, your permission to proceed with this will also be sought.
The information given to your employer will provide advice about your health in relation to work. This is likely to include advice about your fitness for work, how this might change in the future and any workplace adjustments that might help you.
The advice may include limited clinical (medical) information, but this will only be included where it is relevant. The advice will not disclose unnecessary clinical detail regarding conditions that do not have a bearing upon your fitness for work.
The aim is to assist you and your employer to manage any health problems that are impacting upon your capacity for work.
Your OH records are maintained to the same high standard of confidentiality as hospital or GP medical records, in accordance with the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 and GDPR.
Your OH record will not be disclosed to anyone else outside of Brian Larkin Safety without your consent