By Simon Turner, campaign manager for Driving for Better Business

We know that driving is the most dangerous work activity most people do, contributing to far more work-related accidental deaths and serious injuries than any other. Add in a diabetes epidemic, and it’s another challenge for those who manage health and safety.

Employers must ensure that all their staff are fit for work: including fit to drive. That responsibility means they must, where necessary, arrange for periodic health surveillance.

My eyes were opened recently by chatting with Kate Walker, managing director of the Diabetes Safety Organisation.

She says that diabetes is a hidden epidemic exposing all companies and organisations to increased absenteeism, increased risk of incidents, and increased risk of company liability.

With one in 12 in the working population living with diabetes, it’s more than likely affecting some of your employees right now.

Crucially, diabetes is a known foreseeable risk in the workplace. There is legislation that needs to be followed, which is often not understood well.

There’s a common misconception that diabetes is simply a medical issue.

Type 1, 2 and all other variants of Diabetes are generally recognised as a disability under the Equality Act 2010 (or in Northern Ireland, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995).

Diabetes is commonly regarded as an unseen or invisible disability because of the emphasis on individual experience. Employers are therefore expected to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for employees to stop discrimination taking place.

These might include: flexible schedules to allow breaks to test blood sugar levels; flexible working hours to accommodate regular health checks; somewhere to keep insulin cool during the day; and switching duties or a transfer to an alternative role.

There is an increased risk of accidents from those who are undiagnosed, or those who are not managing it well.

A diabetic ‘hypo’ for example is when the blood sugar levels drop too low, which can cause palpitations, shaking, confusion, blurry vision and other symptoms that affect driving.

If employers and safety managers can understand the needs of their people with diabetes, removing any stigma in the workplace, it allows both the driver and our roads to become safer.

There are five million people in the UK with the condition. Of these, only 4% – about 400,000 – are living with Type 1 diabetes. The rest have Type 2. A further 12.6 million in the UK have pre-diabetes.

These numbers are significant and if conditions are not managed, time off from work increases, and there is an increased risk of incidents from those who are undiagnosed.

Safety managers should understand the difference between the two types of diabetes to provide the right support and ensure the right rules are followed.

There are no blanket bans on driving with diabetes in the UK. Anyone can drive if their blood sugars are well managed.

However, there are extra rules for people with diabetes who want to drive. Someone with diabetes should stop driving and contact the DVLA as soon as they find out they must take insulin for the long term, or if they develop complications. If they don’t, they’re breaking the law.

The rules differ depending on the vehicle: for those who drive a bus or a lorry (Group 2 driving licence) the laws are stricter.

There are one million people in the UK who are undiagnosed, so, as employers, how do we help people to know it’s safe to go and get tested?

Understanding the different types of diabetes is a good starting point. Then, it’s about asking the individual what they need:   

• Do they need to take time to take blood tests?
• Do they need somewhere to keep their insulin cool?
• Is there somewhere on-site or in their vehicles to keep sugar and glucose shots, in case they have a hypo?

It’s also wise to check that first aiders know how to deal with diabetes and hypos, and to check that your driving for work policy covers fitness to drive.

The Diabetes Safety Organisation have resources to help safety managers understand the condition, available on the DfBB podcast page here.