An estimated 1.9 million workers in Great Britain suffered from work-related ill health in 2024/25, according to HSE, with 40.1 million working days lost to work-related ill health and injury. Health surveillance helps protect your employees and catch problems early, before they become long-term absence.

David Barber (OH) Ltd is SEQOHS accredited, the recognised quality standard for occupational health services, and holds ISO 9001 certification.

What is health surveillance?

Health surveillance involves a series of employee health checks over a prolonged period of time, which are only carried out after health and safety risk assessments have been completed (and shouldn’t be in place of a risk assessment).

Health surveillance is a legal requirement where your risk assessment shows employees are exposed to a hazard at a level that could harm their health, and where there is a valid way to detect early signs of that harm. This includes exposure to noise, hand-arm vibration, and hazardous substances such as dusts, fumes, solvents and respiratory sensitisers, under COSHH, the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 and the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005. It is not required for every employee who is exposed, which is why it always starts with a proper risk assessment.

Occupational health surveillance objectives:

• To protect the health of staff members by detecting adverse changes or disease in the workplace;
• To collect data for detecting or evaluating health hazards;
• Control these measures.

Do I need occupational health surveillance?

Employers checklist:

1. Is there a risk to health, or a need for occupational health input, in my workplace?
2. Is it safe to control it internally? Do I need a specialist occupational health provider?
3. Take action.
4. Review on a regular basis, especially with new staff members and for introduced business processes.

Our occupational health surveillance services

We offer the following occupational health surveillance services (see below for more information):

• Night shift workers health assessments
• Lung function testing
• Hand-arm vibration
• General health surveillance
• Dermatology
• Driver screening medical
• Audiometry
• Face-fit testing

Health surveillance checks are carried out in order to show that the measures you have in place to reduce risk are working effectively. Alternatively, if current measures you have implemented aren’t working, health surveillance can identify this and our team can help you put together a more comprehensive health surveillance policy, where we can help you to implement measures that do work. Simply contact our team to arrange your specialist consultation.

Biological monitoring

Some hazardous substances can be measured in the body, usually through a simple urine test. Biological monitoring shows whether a substance is getting through your controls, often before any effect on health appears. It is particularly important for vehicle paint sprayers using isocyanate-based paints, where HSE recommends testing at least once a year. We carry out biological monitoring on site, alongside your wider health surveillance programme. Read our guide to isocyanate testing for paint sprayers.

Why is health surveillance important?

• Detecting ill-health effects at an early enough stage that measures can be put in place to effectively reduce and manage these risks
• Providing employers with the right data and guidance to help them to evaluate ongoing health risks in the workplace
• Giving employees the opportunity to raise any concerns about how their work is affecting their health and safety
• Highlight any areas where workplace safety and control measures need to be improved
• Educating employees on the importance of using the protective equipment supplied to them, and the health and safety impacts they may face if they choose not to follow procedure.

The Law On Health Surveillance & Health and Safety

Health surveillance may be required by law where employees are exposed to the following hazards and the risk assessment identifies a risk to health:

• Noise or vibration
• Ionising radiation
• Solvents
• Fumes
• Dusts
• Biological agents and other substances hazardous to health
• Working in compressed air

The HSE specifies that if you expose employees to any sort of hazard, you must reduce the risk as far as reasonably practicable. Make sure your business complies with all relevant regulations by getting in touch with our Derby based team today.

How We Ensure Workplace Safety

We provide health surveillance services in the following areas and the appropriate legislation is listed:

• Audiometry – Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005
• Lung function testing – Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH)
• Forklift, mobile plant and company driver medicals: employer duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and PUWER
• Skin surveillance – Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH)
• Hand-arm vibration (industrial white finger) – Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005
• Pre-placement health surveillance – Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, COSHH and Working Time Regulations 1998 if night shift worker
• Night shift worker – Working Time Regulations 1998 (night worker health assessments)

Health surveillance usually takes place onsite, making it most convenient for you and helping us to fully understand your environment, and the risks it poses.

Health Surveillance at Work: Protecting Your Business

You should minimise your risk of litigation by providing occupational health surveillance to new recruits, and then in regular intervals throughout their career. Our findings can help provide you with the reassurance that the measures you have in place to control risks are effective. We help you to put the right healthy surveillance policies in place to prevent repeated absences, helping you to increase productivity, and ultimately helps your employees to work better, healthier and more safely.

Health surveillance by sector

The surveillance your team needs depends on the work they do. We provide tailored programmes for construction and engineering, manufacturing, food manufacturing, transport and logistics, rail, healthcare, and garages, MOT centres and bodyshops.

How David Barber (OH) Ltd Can Help

We can help ensure that you remain fully compliant with all workplace and governmental laws that surround health surveillance in the workplace, whilst getting you the results you require. Contact us to discuss your requirements and we’ll help ensure your workplace remains safe and healthy.