Unlimited Fines Possible for Fire Safety Breaches
Business owners may risk unlimited fines for breaches of fire safety regulations, under new measures introduced to improve fire safety, as part of the Building Safety Bill. The government’s aim is to improve the quality of fire risk assessments, ensure the competence of the people completing them and to maintain improved historical records about the […]
Landmark Tribunal Approves Covid-19 Mask Employee Dismissal
In the first case in the UK, a Scottish court has upheld an employer’s dismissal of an employee who refused to wear a face mask A lorry driver was at a customer’s site, where there was a rule that mask-wearing was mandatory at all times to prevent the spread of Covid-19. He refused to wear […]
Universities May Need to Test Every Three Days to Prevent Covid-19 Outbreaks
Researchers at 9 Universities modelled Covid-19 transmission, finding twice-weekly testing may not prevent the spread As more transmissible variants of the Covid-19 virus emerge, researchers have challenged the UK Government’s recommendation that staff and students be tested twice a week when they return to campus from this week. Their research findings suggest that it will […]
Covid-19 Changes the Nature of ERM Programmes
Enterprise Risk Management shifted focus to health and safety and business continuity in response to Covid-19 pandemic, report finds. The RIMS “2020 Enterprise Risk Management Benchmark Survey” covered 14 industries across 20 countries. It revealed that Enterprise Risk Management programmes within organisations has clearly shifted focus to Health and Safety and business continuity, during the […]
British Safety Council Calls on HSE to Upgrade Covid-19 Class
The British Safety Council have called on the HSE to review the classification of Covid-19 infection risk from “significant” to “serious”. Their view is that the current classification limits the severity of the HSE’s sanctions, leading to a lack of action, which is a topic making headlines recently. It is also acknowledged that there has […]
Euston Station Tests UV Bacteria-killing Technology
Ultraviolet light is known to be effective at killing bacteria, and engineers at Euston Station in London have installed a UV sanitisation unit in one of the station’s six escalators, to assess the effectiveness. The unit is positioned in the escalator near the handrail, shining UV-C light onto it as it rotates, reportedly killing 99.9% […]
HSE: Latest Prosecution Results: February 2021
Construction Construction company and plastering firm fined after employee falls from height Two companies have been fined after a worker sustained serious injuries by falling approximately three metres through a hole cut into a floor during the refurbishment of a property at in Aldeburgh, Suffolk. Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard how on 27 July 2017, an […]
Littering of Masks Causes Environmental and H&S Hazards
Masks dropped carelessly are a health and safety hazard for safe collection and disposal, pose risks to wildlife and increase plastic use. The figures are truly staggering, and the issue is only going to get worse if individuals fail to take action. It’s been calculated that in 2021 in the UK alone, at current rates […]
Don’t Keep This Under Your Hat!
Hard hat recycling scheme reports successful destruction of over 10,000 hard hats in 3 years, preventing disposal in a landfill. Good news from the world of recycling, with a report of over 10,000 hard hats in the last 3 years having been saved from landfill, via a scheme to shred them into 10mm flakes by […]
HSE Taken To Task By UNISON
Public service union, UNISON, has called on the HSE to update their guidelines and encourage employers to improve Covid measures to keep staff safe. With the increasing number of Covid virus variants that are emerging around the world, this in an issue that shows no sign of going away soon. Disabled, Black and other vulnerable […]
