News

From 1 October 2013 changes have been introduced to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) that simplify the mandatory reporting of workplace injuries for businesses, while ensuring that the data collected gives an accurate and useful picture of workplace incidents. What changed? The main changes were to simplify the reporting requirements…

The Health & Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 have been amended to remove the requirement for the HSE to approve first aid training and qualifications. The idea is to reduce the burden on businesses. Therefore when considering which Supplier to use for your First Aid Training requirements then you should carefully review their experience, expertise…

Before allowing a Contractor to commence undertaking any work, ask the Contractor the following 4 key questions (face-to-face), which will help you decide whether they have just prepared generic risk assessment and method statement (RAMS) or whether they are job specific and that they have considered the risks relating to your specific job – What…

There are clear legal requirements on those who share premises (ie if parts of their building are occupied by other companies/organisations or where they work on a shared site) to “cooperate and coordinate” on health and safety issues. This is because there may be special and often increased risks when premises and sites are shared.…

The HSE has recently published a research report designed to identify reasonably practical measure to reduce the number of deaths of sole traders and workers in micro enterprises (MEs) when carrying out repairs at height on residential premises. One of the findings was that accident fatalities were caused by unsafe work practices with “haste” being…

If/when employing a business or person to dispose of your waste, ensure that you fulfil your duty of care, including auditing any paperwork that you should receive for the disposal of the waste – do not be afraid to ask the necessary questions. After the prosecution of “asbestos specialists” who issued faked transfer notes and…

The HSE have launched a major inspection and enforcement initiative targeting the refurbishment sector from 2 to 27 September 2013. Their initiative will focus on the main causes of accidents and ill-health in refurbishment including – falls from height site good order structural stability asbestos respirable silica welfare Inspectors will make unannounced visits to reinforce…

With expected temperatures due to rise significantly over the next few days (that’s if the Met Office are to be believed) some employers may be faced with complaints about the workplace being too hot. (I know – they should be grateful!!) So we draw your attention to the following guidance – Temperatures in the workplace…

Due to the recent spate of accidents and prosecutions, the HSE have issued new guidance for the health care sector on preventing vulnerable patients falling from windows or balconies and being scalded by hot water/surfaces. Further information can be found at – http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hsis5.htm http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hsis6.htm Further information and guidance for Contract Clients can be found here…