A DRIVE to help workers avoid back injuries was launched today after figures showed the problem was losing British firms 4.9 million days every year.
The Health and Safety Executive said employees who had a work-related back condition took an average of 19 days off work.
The total cost of back pain to the country is about £5 billion a year in health costs and lost productivity.
HSE published a series of tips aimed at workers and employers to help reduce the risk of suffering back problems.
Work and Pensions Minister Lord Hunt said: "It's not only impacting on business profits, it is affecting productivity and stopping employees' enjoying their social life."
About one in every 100 workers suffers from a back problem caused by their job.
The HSE said manual handling of objects should be avoided unless "absolutely necessary" and urged employers to carry out assessments of possible risks.
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