Occupational health for charities: practical staff support

Occupational health for charities can help a small team make better-informed decisions when health affects work. Limited staffing and a strong commitment to beneficiaries can make it difficult to step back from day-to-day demands. A clear process helps managers act without relying on goodwill to fill every gap.

Clarify the role and the support question

Describe the employee’s actual duties, including outreach, travel, administration and any emotionally demanding work. Identify what is currently difficult and what support has already been considered. A broad title such as “project worker” may not give an adviser enough context.

Where an occupational health referral is appropriate, agree the process with the employee and ask focused questions about work and possible adjustments. Confirm what service is being commissioned and who will receive the employer-facing advice. Do not assume that a small organisation needs less care with confidentiality.

Look at workload and conflicting expectations

HSE’s Management Standards identify areas of work design that can affect stress, including demands, control, support, relationships, role and change. Use those themes to ask practical questions with the team. Are priorities clear? Is the workload achievable? Can people raise conflicting requests?

A useful action may be to agree who can defer a lower-priority activity when capacity falls. Give that decision an owner and review its effect. Asking employees to become more resilient will not resolve every problem caused by workload or unclear responsibilities.

Keep employee and volunteer arrangements distinct

HSE provides guidance for organisations involving volunteers and explains when health and safety duties apply. Include volunteers in the relevant risk-management arrangements, while recognising that employment status and entitlements are separate questions.

Do not automatically apply an employee referral policy to a volunteer without checking the appropriate arrangement. Explain the support available, how a concern can be raised and who is responsible for responding. Seek advice where the status or process is unclear.

Make the plan achievable for a small team

Agree practical duties, support and review dates with the employee. Check whether the arrangement depends on another colleague taking on work that is already beyond capacity. If priorities need to change, make that decision openly rather than leaving the employee to manage the conflict.

For example, a manager could identify essential activities for the first week of a return and assign a named contact for reviewing difficulties. This is an illustrative planning approach, not a clinical recommendation or a claim about a charity client.

Charity manager checklist

• Describe the actual role and work difficulties.
• Agree the purpose of any specialist referral.
• Review workload, priorities and support.
• Check employee and volunteer arrangements separately.
• Allocate realistic actions and a review owner.
• Keep health information confidential and appropriately restricted.

Use simple records that lead to action

Record the agreed next step, responsible person and date. A small number of clear actions is more useful than a long list nobody has capacity to complete. Check progress with the employee and revisit the plan if circumstances change.

Software can help organise management follow-up, but access needs to reflect the information involved. Trustees, volunteers and the wider team should not automatically receive clinical details. Keep sensitive reports in the appropriate restricted arrangements.

Practical support for your charities team

Explore our charities sector support, connecting occupational health, HR, health and safety and employee management software. We can discuss the appropriate assessment, referral and management follow-up for your circumstances.

Our team supports employers in Chester, Manchester and the North West, North Wales and other service areas. See our published case studies for examples of wider workplace support.

Sources and scope

Guidance for employers in Great Britain. Consult HSE guidance for organisations involving volunteers and HSE Management Standards overview. Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have separate legal frameworks.