Pictured above: Satinder Bains

Companies across the West Midlands need to do everything in their power to protect employees from occupational asthma, a leading workplace illness lawyer has demanded.

Satinder Bains, a solicitor with the Birmingham office of law firm, Irwin Mitchell, is urging businesses to fully recognise the potentially life-changing impact of the condition following the release of new research. Published in the journal Thorax, the study suggested that the financial impact of asthma brought on by working conditions in the UK could be up to £135 million a year.

The team behind the findings, which included specialists from the University of Birmingham, measured the costs by considering both the impact on NHS and benefit systems, as well as lost income and productivity. 

It was also found that around 3,000 new cases of occupational asthma are diagnosed in the UK annually, which supports previous estimates produced by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).

Satinder Bains, who specialises in workplace injury and illness cases, said the figures highlight a growing concern. She said: "These statistics clearly suggest that firms are failing to do enough to protect staff involved in work known to carry the risk of causing or exacerbating asthma.

"The health and safety of workers is a top priority which employers simply cannot afford to ignore, as this research goes some way to highlighting."

Irwin Mitchell has much expertise in the area of occupational asthma through its work representing clients who have developed such problems. A common scenario is that those with well-controlled asthma see their symptoms worsen as a result of the employer failing to provide adequate protective equipment.

"Employers need to react to this research in the right manner by introducing and maintaining the right standards of training, as well as the use of adequate personal protective equipment, to protect workers from entirely preventable health problems like this," Ms Bains added.

"Only then can it be ensured that people are given as much protection as possible from the risks and devastating impact that occupational asthma can have."