Flexible employment 'could help MSD sufferers'

• 05 March 2010

  Employment law that involves flexible working allowances could help workers suffering from musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).
  
  Back pain is a common form of this disorder and many employees find their work difficult when suffering from such pain.
  
  Managing director of The Work Foundation Steve Bevan explained that flexibility could help people with conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis.
  
  Conditions that cause fatigue or chronic pain can be hugely helped by small changes.
  
  "People with rheumatoid arthritis can often suffer from painful 'flares' of joint inflammation which can be very painful and exhausting," Mr Bevan stated.
  
  Allowing such workers to start their jobs later in the day, when these pains should have died down somewhat, may help, he added.
  
  The comments follow revelations from the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance that leading policymakers and employers would like to see better support from sufferers of MSDs so that they find jobs easier.
  
  It added that absence from sufferers could be the cause of 10.8 million working days in 2008-09.
  
  Posted by Claire Archer

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