Research reveals cost of ignoring health and safety procedures

Good health and safety practice is expected from any responsible employer – but compliance can be a considerable cost to SMEs.

However, recent research has shown that it is actually cheaper to comply with health and safety legislation, rather than leave it to chance.

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Report stresses importance of clerk of works role

A report into the defective construction of 17 schools in Edinburgh has stressed the important role that clerks of works play in ensuring that buildings are properly constructed.

In January 2016, a large section of a brick wall at Oxgangs Primary School in Edinburgh collapsed during a storm onto an area where children normally played. Nine tonnes of masonry fell in the incident, which could have had catastrophic consequences.

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A person dealing with work-related stress sat with their head in hands infront of a laptop

Work-related stress caused 12 million lost working days, says HSE

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has released sobering statistics which reveal there were 488,000 cases of work-related stress, depression and anxiety in 2015-16, leading to 11.7 million days off work.

Overall, stress accounted for a staggering 45 per cent of all working days lost and 37 per cent of all work-related ill health cases.

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HSE Fees for Intervention challenged

The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) Fees for Intervention (FFI) scheme has come under the spotlight following a legal challenge at the end of 2016.

As a result, FFI will be the subject of a full Judicial Review hearing in the High Court in May 2017, brought by facilities management company OCS Group UK.

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HSE publishes 2016 statistics

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has released its annual figures detailing how the UK is performing in terms of health and safety. The statistics reveal that:

  • 144 people were killed at work in 2015/16. This is an increase from 142 people in 2014/15.
  • 72,702 non-fatal injuries were reported by employers. This is a decrease from the 2014/15 figure of 76,000.
  • An estimated 9 million working days were lost due to work-related illness. This is a decrease from 27.3 million in 2014/15.
  • The estimated annual cost of work-related injury in 2015/16 is £14.1 billion

The increase in fatal accidents over the past two years is sad news, although the decrease in non-fatal injuries and working days lost is encouraging.

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Director prosecutions on the rise: Advice on staying protected

Sobering data shows that, in the year to March 2016, 46 company directors and managers were prosecuted for health and safety offences – more than triple the previous year’s total of 15 prosecutions.

The majority of prosecutions followed the death or injury of an employee and many were in the construction sector. Of those prosecuted, 34 were found guilty and 12 received prison sentences, the longest of which was two years. The data was obtained by law firm Clyde & Co using the Freedom of Information Act.

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New health and safety sentencing guidelines start to bite

New sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences came into force in February this year, and businesses need to be aware of the potential financial and reputational ramifications.

Under the new guidelines, fines will be calculated in a staged process which factors in the level of harm involved, culpability and the turnover of the organisation.

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Driver safety: Your obligations as an employer

Work-related driving is one of the riskiest activities that staff will undertake, with more than 500 deaths every year.

As with any other type of work, driving is covered by the Health and Safety at Work Act which requires employers to do what is reasonably practicable to protect employees and others from harm.

Employers also need to undertake a risk assessment of all work activities, including driving, and put in place measures identified as part of this process.

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Regulations to be aware of: New smoke detector legislation

The Government has successfully passed new regulations making it compulsory for landlords to fit smoke alarms in rented homes.

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide (England) Regulations 2015 require landlords to have a working smoke alarm on each floor of their property and a carbon monoxide detector in properties that burn solid fuel.

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