Small businesses are not doing enough to prevent stress and work-related injuries suffered by staff, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has claimed.

According to new research by the union organization, worry, repetitive strain injury (RSI), and back strains were the three most common problems in UK workplaces. The TUC said that employers are failing to protect their employees from ill health and injuries.

Occurrences of stress rose by two per cent compared with 2002, whilst RSI and back strain increased three and four per cent respectively.

Staff absence caused by illness and injury is a big problem for small businesses, with many lacking the resources to cover for key employees. Legal challenges bought by injured workers have also caused many unprepared small firms to go bust.

The biennial survey of union safety representatives found that the private sector is better at carrying out risk assessments than the public sector, with 57 per cent doing them as opposed to 51 per cent for the public sector.

Only half of all TUC reps stated that they thought their employer carried out adequate risk assessments. Of all the regions, London was the worst offender for poor health and safety. Energy and banking held the best records.

Banking, together with finance, had the worst percentage of stress instances at 83 per cent of reps, particularly in Scotland and the South West. Among other concerns highlighted were display screen equipment (32 per cent), working alone (27 per cent), and violence (22 per cent). The report also found that those employers offering occupational health services tend to focus on sickness monitoring and disciplinary assessments, rather than promoting good health and preventing accidents.

The research found that the Health and Safety Executive failed to inspect many workplaces, with 39 per cent of union reps claiming their office or factory had never been visited by officials.

Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, said that simple risk assessments by bosses could “dramatically reduce” the risk of hazards in the workplace.

“Yet, despite being required by law to carry them out, large numbers of employers still fail to do so.

“The Health and Safety Executive must get together with negligent bosses who continue to be reckless with the safety and well-being of their workforce.”