Safety

More and more Directors and Senior Managers are being prosecuted alongside the companies they own or manage for Health & Safety breaches. Figures published indicate a 400% increase in this type of prosecution from 2000 to 2011 and they continue to feature heavily in the news. In a recent example, a skip company was fined…

You can’t avoid the news reports of a predicted winter freeze this year. UK reports have warned us to prepare for a record cold winter with savage Arctic gales and heavy snowstorms even worse than the bitter winter of 2009/10. When a severe weather event occurs what can businesses do to minimise the disruption to…

Dressing up and decorating the office at Halloween can be fun. However, there are a few things to consider to make sure the day doesn’t end up with a trip to casualty. Decorations Make sure suitable step ladders are used for putting up any decorations.  Don’t use office chairs, desks, filing cabinets or domestic grade…

Businesses can more easily be brought to justice when people die as a result of their actions. Under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act, which came into force on the 6th April 2008, it is now easier to bring a company to justice following fatalities resulting from their undertakings. When a company is prosecuted…

Health and Safety is a very important part of any organisation – but how people view it depends on the culture within the organisation. Different organisations, indeed different sites within the same organisation, will have a different culture and outlook on Health and Safety. Cultures are driven by Directors and Managers.  Take for example a…

Every year, there are over 5000 accidents involving transport in the workplace. About 50 of these result in people being killed, according to HSE statistics. The main causes of injury are people falling off vehicles, or being struck or crushed by them. Workplace transport is any activity involving vehicles used in a workplace. Vehicles driven…

Throughout Britain, there are unqualified people undertaking Fire Risk Assessments – and many of them are not insurance and not accredited. There are incidents where Fire Authorities consider the assessments to be insufficient and refuse to accept them. They may also take action if they think your fire safety measures aren’t adequate. In some circumstances,…

Do your employees complain about uncomfortable chairs? If so, your office seating could be a major Health & Safety risk. Staff members often identify chairs as the main cause of their back aches. Studies have found that in the life cycle of an office chair in a typical year that the average chair spends around 2000…

In the summer, it seems wrong think about servicing your heating systems. However, inspection and servicing of Gas Appliances and other types of heating now can prevent issues in the winter. Summer and autumn are the ideal time to have your heating systems checked in particular checks for Carbon Monoxide. Often employers wait until the…

Do your employees need to Work at Height? If you don’t put measures in place to plan, manage and monitor the project properly or you could face a huge fine. Recently, a man from Birmingham was fined £3000 and ordered to pay £1255.30 in costs at Sandwell Magistrates Court for failing to properly plan or…

Does your business work with asbestos? If so, your employees may be required to be under surveillance by a doctor. A new law, which came into force in April 2015, states that any employee or self-employed contractor undertaking “Notifiable Non-Licensed Asbestos Work” must be subject to Health Surveillance by a doctor. However, this level of surveillance does…