'Let's Work Together': Arthritis Care launches World Arthritis Day 'Employers' Pledge'

ARTHRITIS CARE NEWS RELEASE  

World Arthritis Day, Monday 12th October 2009

Arthritis Care urges bosses to act on survey and keep people with arthritis in work

Employer support is a key deciding factor in helping workers with arthritis to keep their jobs, reveals a new survey by UK charity Arthritis Care for World Arthritis Day (Oct 12th).

Where bosses fail to offer supports like flexible working and an accessible environment, the snapshot shows that employees with arthritis too often end up leaving their jobs. Of the respondents still in work despite having arthritis, an emphatic 75% said their employer had provided reasonable adjustments when requested. But of the respondents not now in work, only 39% said they had received such adjustments. 

 ‘Arthritis Care’s poll shows an inescapable link between an employer’s support for someone with arthritis and their ability to stay in work. Arthritis is the UK’s biggest cause of physical disability, and more must be done to enable people with the condition to have a full working life, not existence on disability benefit by default’, says Rachel Haynes, Arthritis Care’s director of public affairs.

A worrying 70% of the survey’s non-working respondents directly blamed leaving their job on their arthritis. Almost two-thirds of these (64%) said they had requested reasonable adjustments from their employer but only one in three of these (36%) got them.

Flexible working and an understanding attitude by bosses to arthritis-related absence topped the Arthritis Care survey as the employer support most valued by respondents.

Arthritis Care is now acting on the results by launching an ‘Employers’ Pledge’ on World Arthritis Day, urging employers across the UK to affirm their commitment  to improving life at work for people with arthritis.

Rachel Haynes says: ‘Although times are tough in today’s market, businesses should   strive for inclusive workforces that genuinely reflect our society. This Pledge provides an opportunity for them to become better employers. Many bosses aren’t even aware of government support schemes like Access to Work, or how simple it can be to make adjustments for staff who need them. For example, giving employees with arthritis a supportive chair, or flexible hours to help them dodge the rush-hour crush, can make all the difference in helping them to stay working.’

For the week of World Arthritis Day, Arthritis Care’s free helpline will offer a special ‘Work’ service for anyone with questions about arthritis in the workplace, and a free information pack for callers.  ‘The ‘Let’s Work Together’ theme of this year’s World Arthritis Day provides a good excuse for both employers and employees to wise up to the help available  – for example, Arthritis Care offers Arthritis Awareness workshops for employers who want to understand the impact of arthritis better, and the ‘Work’ section of our website has information about Access to Work, occupational health,  and rights and duties under disability legislation’, says Rachel Haynes.

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To interview Rachel Haynes or a case study in your area, please call Jane Spence in the Arthritis Care press office on 0207 380 6551.  

 JPEGs of the Helplines team taking calls, and of the osteoarthritis simulation suit which is used in Arthritis Awareness training sessions for employers are available on request.

As a service to your readers, please mention Arthritis Care's free services: For more information, visit www.arthritiscare.org.uk or call the free Arthritis Care Helpline on 0808 800 4050 (Mon – Fri, 10am-4pm).Notes to Editors

1. Arthritis Care is the UK’s largest charity supporting people of all ages who have any form of arthritis. It was founded in 1947, a year before the NHS, and has always pioneered self-management for people living with arthritis.  

1. Arthritis Care conducted the survey of 429 people with arthritis via its website between August and September 2009.  

1. The Arthritis Care ‘Employers’ Pledge’ has been created to encourage  employers to take an active interest in how arthritis affects people at work, and to be proactive in offering support to staff who require it, as well as ensuring that staff are given the information they need to make requests for reasonable adjustments and to make full use of schemes such as Access to Work. Many of these adjustments incur little or no cost to the employer, but can often make the difference in saving the expense of recruiting new members of staff.

          In its 2009  Patient Information Awards, t

he British Medical Association highly commended the Working with Arthritis  section of the Arthritis Care website: http://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/LivingwithArthritis/Workingwitharthritis

1. The aims of World Arthritis Day, founded in 1996, are to:

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raise awareness of arthritis among the medical community, people with arthritis and the general public  

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influence public policy by making decision-makers aware of the burden of arthritis and the steps which can be taken to ease it  

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ensure all people with arthritis and their caregivers are aware of the vast support network available to them.

1. Arthritis is incurable. The word ‘arthritis’ comes from the Greek, meaning ‘inflammation of the joints’. It is used as an umbrella terms for some 200 inflammatory and degenerative conditions, including osteoarthritis, lupus, Lyme Disease, gout, rheumatoid arthritis and RSI.  

1. Arthritis is the chief cause of physical disability in the United Kingdom, affecting nine million people of all ages, including 12,000 babies and children. Most people with arthritis experience pain, stiffness, and difficulty moving around. Two of the most common forms of arthritis are osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).   It is not clear what causes arthritis, and there is no cure at present. However, there is plenty people can do to manage their condition and lead fully active and productive lives.

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) estimated that MSDs were responsible for 9.5 million lost working days in 2005/06, an average of 17.3 days absence for each person suffering from an MSD.

1. Arthritis and musculoskeletal disroders are the UK’s second most common cause of days off sick, after mental health conditions  

1. Over 100 million people in Europe are affected by musculoskeletal conditions and including them in the workforce as taxpayers is of significant financial benefit to society as well as to their own quality of life and wellbeing.