Public liability insurance holders should be given a helping hand by the government in tackling health and safety, according to an industry commentator.
A new study by the Work Foundation claimed that as firms come out of the economic downturn, employers are keen to improve the quality of jobs but lack the knowledge to do so.
Stephen Bevan, managing director of the foundation, said that employers are now grasping the link between staff wellbeing and how it can affect productivity.
"The responsibility for health and wellbeing of the workforce is spread across different government departments. We need one centralised body with a clear identity and a clear remit to work in partnership with employers to crack many of the UK's persistent job quality problems," he added.
Public liability insurance holders were also told that many businesses suffered with illness absences, retaining staff, recruitment and under-performance, with poor quality of jobs often given as an explanation.
Latest figures from the Health and Safety Executive showed that 29.3 million days were lost between 2008/09, with 24.6 million being due to work-related ill health and 4.7 million due to workplace injury.