23-Nov-20 | News

“Appropriate working conditions are a basic human right”

“I felt it important to write a response to the Daily Mail article, published on the 22nd November – that insinuates that home working adjustments for Civil Service staff is somewhat frivolous.

In a time of national crisis, we have all been moved to new, and often unorthodox working conditions. The ‘new normal’ of sitting hunched over a laptop on a sofa, or inappropriately proportioned table is a muscular-skeletal crisis waiting to happen, with many professionals already sounding the alarm bell. (In a recent study commissioned by Chubb in the states, 41% of remote workers said that they had new or increased back, neck, or shoulder pain since they began working from home).

Appropriate working conditions are a basic human right, and for a Civil Service that is already working extremely hard to prop up our nation in a time of need – why should we be denying them the tools to keep them safe and well in the workplace?

Villainizing the procurement of basic equipment needed to keep people safe in their remote working environments sends a dangerous message to other employers. We need to be ENCOURAGING not discouraging employers to think proactively about how they can best service their staff, keeping them healthy and able to fully contribute.”

Dr Nasser Siabi OBE
CEO