The Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives was established in April 2005 to drive the implementation of the Scottish Executives strategy developed in response to the Health Improvement Challenge 2003. The centre bought together the successful initiatives SHAW (Scotland Health at Work) and ShaW (Scotland’s Safe and Healthy Working). It offers a wide range of comprehensive services, in partnership with other agencies, to improve the health of the working age population and to enhance employability in Scotland.

The Scottish Executive launched “Workforce Plus – an Employability Framework for Scotland” in 2006 and set a target and the framework of helping 66,000 people off working age benefits by 2010.

Health is not cited as the main barrier to returning to work. Then reasons given are: Loss of confidence, lack of skills and finance.

Scottish Business in the Community, the Scottish Executive and our members recognise the very important role that employers can play in providing opportunities for long term unemployed to enter the labour market. Engaging employers and more particularly, encouraging employers to recruit from a wider labour pool (e.g. lone parent, incapacity benefit claimants, ex offenders) is a key priority.

There is also a clear link between health and work - an independent review, 'Is Work Good for Your Health and Well-being?’ (Gordon Waddell, A Kim Burton) was commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions to examine scientific evidence on the health benefits of work.

The study found that there is a strong evidence base showing that work is generally good for physical and mental health and well-being and that worklessness is associated with poorer physical and mental health. Work can also be therapeutic and can reverse the adverse health effects of unemployment.