Key Documents | ReIntegrate

Promoting Mental Wellbeing through Productive and Healthy Working Conditions: Guidance for Employers

Tilia Boussios — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:06:20 GMT

The guidance complements, but does not replace, NICE guidance on workplace promotion of physical activity and smoking cessation and also on depression. The Public Health Interventions Advisory Committee (PHIAC) developed these recommendations on the basis of reviews of the evidence, an economic analysis, expert advice, stakeholder comments and fieldwork. The guidance was developed using the NICE public health intervention process.

Preventing Social Exclusion through Illness or Disability: Models of Good Practice

Tilia Boussios — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:16:15 GMT

McAnaney and Wynne have presented a coherent description and a theoretical account of the processes wherby people who acquire a disability or chronic illness can become socially excluded. This mainly happens through the process of becomming absent from work and through a failure to be reintegrated into the workplace, for whatever reason, eventually becomming long-term absent and dependent on long-term disability benefits. Describing examples of good practice at any level requires a framework for good practice against which real practice can be assessed. This paper proposes two such frameworks, one each for the systems and workplace levels, which set out a number of dimensions which can be used to characterise practice at these levels. The European Foundation study characterised the national situations in seven EU Member States (Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) and sought to identify examples of good practice at company level in each of these countries. In this paper some of the more innovative approaches to return to work in these countries are described and conclusions regarding good practice are drawn.

SLAN Survey of Lifestyle, Attitudes and Nutrition in Ireland - Mental Health and Social Well-being

Tilia Boussios — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 08:42:46 GMT

This report presents the findings on mental health and social well being, and considers the influence of key socio-demographic variables, including age, gender, social class, education, income, residential location, employment status and marital status. The relationships between mental health, social well-being, self-rated health and selected health behaviours from the main survey are also examined. The present study aims to determine the levels of mental health in the Irish adult population, including positive mental health, psychological distress, major depressive disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, reported self-harm and perceived stigma. The survey also evaluates the levels of social well-being in the Irish adult population, including levels of quality of life, social support, loneliness, community involvement and neighbourhood perceptions.

Disability Management in the Workplace: A Guide to Establishing a Joint Workplace Program

Tilia Boussios — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:14:18 GMT

Information provided in this booklet summarises: • the benefits of Workplace Disability Management Programs; and • how to design and implement an effective Disability Management Program in your workplace. It has been demonstrated that joint labour / management, workplace-based Disability Management Programs show positive results. Some examples include: • increasing the number of employees who successfully return to work following an injury or illness, reducing the cost of disability to the employer and employees; • fostering an early and safe return to employment, allowing employees to maintain their benefits and income level, as well as their contact with co-workers; • encouraging the active participation of unions, helping them to fulfill their role of protecting jobs and benefits for their members; • minimizing the negative impact of disability on the employee’s family, co-workers, supervisors and the community; and • building mutual trust between all stakeholders through improved cooperation.

ILO (2002) ILO Code of Practice: Managing Disability in the Workplace

Tilia Boussios — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:08:00 GMT

Many persons with disabilities who want to work do not have the opportunity to work due to many barriers. While it is recognized that economic growth can lead to increased employment opportunities, the code outlines best practices which enable employers to utilize the skills and potential of people with disabilities within existing national conditions. It is increasingly apparent that disabled people not only have a valuable contribution to make to the national economy but that their employment also reduces the cost of disability benefits and may reduce poverty. There is a strong business case for employing people with disabilities since they are often qualified for a particular job. Employers may also gain by expanding the number of eligible workers through continuing the employment of those who become disabled, since valuable expertise acquired on the job and through work-related training is retained. This code has been drawn up to guide employers – be they large, medium-sized or small enterprises, in the private or public sector, in developing or highly industrialized countries – to adopt a positive strategy in managing disability-related issues in the workplace. While this code is principally addressed to employers, governments play an essential role in creating a supportive legislative and social policy framework and providing incentives to promote employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Moreover, the participation and initiative of people with disabilities is important for the code to be achievable. The contents of the code are based on the principles underpinning international instruments and initiatives designed to promote the safe and healthy employment of all persons with disabilities. This code is not a legally binding instrument and is not intended to supersede or replace national legislation. It is intended to be read in the context of national conditions and to be applied in accordance with national law and practice.

Employing People with Disabilities: Employers’ Experience

Tilia Boussios — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:06:19 GMT

In December 1995, the National Rehabilitation Board (NRB), the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC), and the Association for Higher Education Access and Disability (AHEAD) initiated a survey of employer experience regarding the recruitment and employment of people with disabilities. The survey was intended as a pilot exercise to assess employer experience regarding the recruitment and employment of people with disabilities. The questionnaire used in the survey was not pilot tested and this let to some shortcomings in the nature and extent of the data collected. Nevertheless much useful data was obtained on employer experience and valuable insights were gained which should benefit future investigations into the same area. This report on the survey is divided into two main parts – Part A and Part B. A summary of the survey findings plus forewords from NRB, IBEC, and Ahead are contained in Part A. Part B consists of a more detailed account of the findings. Following Part B, Appendix 1 contains the conventions used in data presentation throughout the report while Appendix 2 contains information on supports provided by NRB to assist in the employment of people with disabilities. Finally, Appendix 3 consists of a list of contact addresses for the three organisations involved in the survey.

Physical Requirements Associated with the Work of Aging Workers in the European Union.

Tilia Boussios — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:58:51 GMT

Physical requirements of work should decline with advancing age because the dimensions of physical work capacity of individuals decline with age, too. The Second European Survey on Working Conditions in 1995/1996 was used to study the prevalences (%) of poor work postures, handling heavy loads, and repetitive work in the representative sample of employed people in the 15 European Union member states. Exposure to physical requirements was still common in the European Union. Nearly 50% of older workers (age 45 years or more) were exposed to repetitive work, about 30% had poor work postures and 15% to 20% were handling heavy loads at least half of the working time. The physical requirements were as common for older and younger (less than 45 years of age) workers. The physical requirements were most common in Mediterranean countries and least common in the northern part of Europe. The differences in prevalence rates of exposures between the countries were large, from three- to fivefold. Favorable differences between older and younger workers were more notable for older men than for older women in poor work postures and repetitive work. However, older women had less handling of heavy loads than older men. The results showed that the need for better adjustments of physical requirements with age is still very relevant in the European Union and demands urgently appropriate measures in working life.

A Barometer of HR Trends and Prospects 2008.

Tilia Boussios — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:53:00 GMT

Throughout 2007 the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) surveyed every changing contour of the world of work. This sixth annual people management and development barometer report is a compendium of individual surveys, drawing out common themes and highlighting emerging trends. The summary of main finding can be read as a baseline human capital report for UK plc. These surveys are regularly supplemented by background data obtained from the CIPD/KPMG quarterly Labour Market Outlook survey. Our surveys are drawn from relatively large sample sizes and provide comprehensive coverage across all sectors and sizes of organisation. Each survey report is an invaluable source of benchmarking information for practitioners and policy-makers. Some surveys are accompanied by separate ‘Reflections’ reports in which experts and practitioners comment on various aspects of the survey findings. This ‘all in one place’ compendium presents the main findings from each of our 2007 surveys and outlines the challenges facing HR practitioners in 2008.

The 2007 surveys cited are:

Absence Management
Diversity in Business: A focus for progress
Employing Ex-offenders to Capture Talent
HR in International Mergers and Acquisitions
Labour Market Outlook (quarterly)
Learning and Development
Managing Conflict at Work
Managing Drug and Alcohol Misuse at Work
Recruitment, Retention and Turnover
Reward Management • The Changing HR Function.

Copies of the CIPD’s survey reports can be obtained free from: www.cipd.co.uk/surveys

Irish Equality Authority Annual Report 2007

Tilia Boussios — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:27:00 GMT

During 2007 the Equality Authority

Responded to 10,993 queries under five different pieces of legislation. There were 3,047 queries in relation to the Employment Equality Acts, 1,559 queries in relation to the Equal Status Acts, 4,257 queries in relation to the Maternity Protection Acts, 1,996 queries under the Parental Leave Acts and 134 queries under the adoptive leave Acts.
Had 737 casefiles under three pieces of legislation with 360 casefiles under the Employment Equality Acts, 328 casefiles under the Equal Status Acts and 49 casefiles under the Intoxicating Liquor Act.

In these casefiles

The age ground was the highest area of casefiles under the Employment Equality Acts for the first time (87 casefiles out of 360-24%)
The disability ground was the highest area of casefiles under the three Acts together (177 casefiles out of 737-24%)
Under the Equal Status Acts there was a substantial number of casefiles involving allegations of discrimination against the public sector-government departments, state agencies, local authorities, health agencies and schools (225 casefiles out of 328-69%)
The Traveller ground was the second highest area of casefiles under the Equal Status Acts (63 out of 328 casefiles-19%). These predominantly relate to allegations of discrimination in relation to educational establishments and accommodation provision.
The race ground (68 casefiles) and the gender ground (65 casefiles) continue to be a significant focus in the casefiles under the Employment Equality Acts.
The Traveller and the disability grounds are the highest areas under the Intoxicating Liquor Act.