Health and Safety Round Up: June - Sept 2011

 

Changes and consultations

The last few months have seen some big steps to make significant changes in the way that health and safety is managed in the UK.

Lofstedt review

Following from Lord Young’s report “Common Sense – Common Safety”, the government have launched a new review into health and safety legislation.  The review is looking at opportunities to combine, simplify or reduce the 200 statutory instruments which are owned by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and consider the extent to which regulations have:

• positively impacted health and safety outcomes and businesses
• led to unreasonable outcomes or inappropriate litigation and compensation
• unnecessarily enhanced the requirements of the EU directives.

The Department for Work and Pensions are calling for evidence inviting views from businesses, health and safety professionals and other interested parties at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/consultations/2011/lofstedt-review-cfe.shtml

Revised RIDDOR reporting system

From 12 September 2011:

• Statutory reporting to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) of work-related injuries and incidents under RIDDOR (the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) moved to a predominately online system.
• The HSE have revised the online forms to make the reporting process quick and easy.
• Employers can no longer report incidents by email, post or fax.
• Fatal and major injuries and dangerous occurrences can still be reported to the HSE by phone.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/ 

HSE Infoline closing

The HSE’s Infoline will close on 30 September 2011.  As an alternative, businesses and individuals who want health and safety information will be expected to use the HSE’s website.  www.hse.gov.uk.

HSE proposals for cost recovery

The HSE is facing some significant cuts over the next few years and have proposed a number of cost recovery initiatives.  The most significant is that they are proposing to recover the costs for the whole of their intervention from duty holders who are found to be breaching health and safety law.  Consultation on the proposal closes on 14 October 2011, the documents are available http://www.hse.gov.uk/consult/condocs/cd235.htm.  .

Health and safety newsletter

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has replaced the printed version of its health and safety newsletter with an online version, so it is now available free of charge.  It includes HSE news, case studies, court stories and guidance.  The Summer 2011 edition includes changes to incident reporting, HSE’s proposals for cost recovery, the Occupational H&S Consultants’ Register, etc. 
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/newsletter.htm

Useful information

Ladder exchange 2011

The 2011 Ladder Exchange, supported by the Ladder Association and various retailers, started on 1 September and runs until 30 November 2011.  During this period, ladder and stepladder users can exchange damaged or dangerous ladders, at a discount, for new ones.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/ladderexchange.htm

Are your employees aware of their health and safety procedures?

A study of 1,561 employees from the website www.personalinjurylawyers.co.uk found that:

• 75% of employees are unaware of their health and safety procedures at work
• 49% of the 1,561 employees surveyed claimed that they had never seen any written documentation of safety procedures in place, despite working in a business employing five or more people
• 20% were aware of what to do in the event of a fire
• 76% of employees did not know where their first aid kit was located. 

The Working Life – Getting the Balance Right

This recent ITV Tonight Programme, explored the UK’s intensive working culture.  They surveyed 2000 full time employees about their working lives and found that:

• 70 % said they are spending most of their lives working
• Over 50% work more hours than they are paid for
• 32% of those polled thought that working too hard had made them ill
• 74% suffer what they believe is work related stress
• 1 in 5 admitted to spending only 20 minutes a day with their children

HSE case studies: financial benefits of stress management strategies

The HSE have published case studies from a variety of different sectors showing the financial benefits gained by organisations which have implement stress management strategies. http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/experience.htm

New work and mental health website

The Royal College of Psychiatrists has launched a new website about mental health in the workplace.  It offers information, guidance and links to a range of resources in four sections aimed at:

• workers
• carers
• employers
• clinicians.

http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinfo/workandmentalhealth.aspx

IOSH Li£e Savings Campaign

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has launched a new campaign to remind businesses that good health and safety practices can help reduce costs.  The campaign highlights various case studies which show a significant return on investment from investing up front in health and safety.  http://www.iosh.co.uk/news_and_events/campaigns/life_savings.aspx

A bit of light relief

The fun police

We are looking forward to seeing the new sitcom the “Fun Police” starring Vic Reeves which takes a lighthearted look at the lives of a team of health and safety workers in a small town.  It will be aired on Channel 4 in the autumn.  http://www.comedy.co.uk/news/story/00000542/vic_reeves_rhys_darby_new_sitcom_pilot/

Bizarre health and safety bans

The HSE has released a list of the top 10 ‘bizarre’ health and safety bans taken from media coverage this year.  It makes interesting reading: http://www.hse.gov.uk/news/bizarre-bans/index.htm

If you would like any more information on any of these issues, please contact us.