Time to act

As the world of work continues to transform, it is crucial the safety, health and wellbeing of workers is high on the list of priorities if business and economies are to be sustainable, perform well, and thrive.

We surveyed IOSH members asking what they believe the top three priorities for the next Government should be. They said:

mental health at work (38%)
Health and Safety Executive funding (36%)
supporting future generations with skills (35%)
climate change and related OSH risks (32%)
artificial intelligence impact on workers (26%).

We've highlighted other findings from this survey throughout this manifesto.

IOSH’s report, Towards a safe and healthy future of work, sets out how technological advances, including the adoption of artificial intelligence, and social and environmental issues such as ageing workforces and climate change will alter how we work. It demonstrates how we must be prepared and respond in the right ways.

The report focuses attention on wider benefits and opportunities to improve workplace health and safety standards but also how these changes could create new hazards and risks.

We urge the incoming Government to prioritise preventing workplace harm by:

protecting workers’ rights to safe, healthy, decent work
strengthening and expanding the UK’s world-leading system that prevents harm at work
supporting businesses to tackle new and emerging workplace hazards
promoting a diverse, inclusive, skilled and motivated workforce
building a more robust, sustainable economy.