"Work can be good for your health"

• This is a statement made by Dame Carol Black in her report on the health of the working age population.

• This is radically opposite to what has previously been the approach to the management of sickness which assumes that illness is incompatible with being in work.

• Anglian Water reduced direct absence costs by £289,000 a year with a return on investment of £3.00 for every £1.00 spent. Claims for back pain reduced by 50% and ill health retirements by 90%.

• The Royal Mail achieved a net average saving of £1.1million a year in direct absence costs with a return on investment of 300%.

• Yorkshire Water achieved a return on investment of 170% by providing a physiotherapy service.

• Sickness absence costs the UK economy £100m per year with 175m working days lost per year.

• Companies with approximately 400 employees lose on average £54,000 per annum

• Highly trained staff are lost

• Leading to retraining on costs affecting continuity in the workplace

• Musculoskeletal conditions have an average absence of 10 weeks

• Mental health problems account for 40% + of total sick notes issued

• Mental health conditions have an average absence of 15 weeks – twice as long as other conditions

• Average absence of all conditions is 8 weeks