HSE Unveils New Health and Safety Strategy

The HSE has published its strategy "The Health and Safety of Great Britain \\ Be Part of the Solution" last week (June 3rd 2009) hoping to reduce the number of related deaths and injuries in the workplace.

In 2007/08, provisional figures show that 229 workers were killed and 136,771 employees were seriously injured at their place of work. During the same time, approximately 2.1 million people were suffering from an illness thought to be caused by or made worse by their present or past work.

The HSE's strategy outlines these 10 goals:

1.To investigate work-related accidents and ill health and take enforcement action to prevent harm and secure justice when appropriate.

2.To encourage strong leadership in championing the importance of, and common-sense approach to, health and safety in the workplace.

3.To motivate focus on the core aims of health and safety, to help risk makers and managers distinguish between real health and safety issues and trivial or ill-informed criticism.

4.To encourage an increase in competence, which will enable greater ownership and profiling of risk, thereby promoting sensible and proportionate risk management.

5.To reinforce the promotion of worker involvement and consultation in health and safety matters throughout unionised and non-unionised workplaces of all sizes.

6.To specifically target key health issues and to identify and work with those bodies best placed to bring about a reduction in the incidence rate and number of cases of work-related ill health.

7.To set priorities and, within those priorities, to identify which activities, their length and scale, deliver a significant reduction in the rate and number of deaths and accidents.

8.To adapt and customise approaches to help the increasing numbers of SMEs in different sectors comply with their health and safety obligations.

9.To reduce the likelihood of low frequency, high impact catastrophic incidents while ensuring that Great Britain maintains its capabilities in those industries strategically important to the country's economy and social infrastructure.

10.To take account of wider issues that impact on health and safety as part of the continuing drive to improve Great Britain's health and safety performance.

Download a PDF copy of the strategy here.

UK Bosses Prepared To Cut Their Own Bonuses Before Health And Safety

UK bosses are prepared to cut their own bonuses before health and safety, however lives are at risk as 1 in 12 workers admit to feeling under pressure to take risks.

A new survey from the British Safety Council (BSC) has found that over half of all businesses making cutbacks this year, will cut the bosses' bonuses before health and safety management.

Even though this demonstrates a positive attitude towards health and safety, the survey also raised significant issues in regards to health and safety and the recession. The survey found that one in ten workers is fearful of raising concerns about health and safety issues in the current economic climate. Furthermore, it was found that one in twelve workers feel that they are under pressure from their bosses to save money, by taking risks with people's safety.

The BSC's survey into the attitudes of bosses and workers to safety in the workplace revealed that although 95% of bosses were confident about what they are required to do legally in order to make their workplace safe, 26% of them were not aware of the 3 main pieces of safety advice and legislation:

• Health and Safety (Offences) Act;
• Corporate Manslaughter Act;
• Institute of Directors' Guidance for Directors.
  

Brian Nimick, Chief Executive of the British Safety Council, said:

"No one should have to work in a situation where they fear for their safety because of unsafe practices. There needs to be a clearly defined "safe to work" covenant between workers and bosses if we are to make the workplace in the UK and elsewhere as safe as possible.

"Even in the current challenging financial climate facing industry, now is not the time to make health and safety costs a casualty of cut backs."

While the majority of workers (70%) feel more inclined to be productive in an environment where their employer is attentive to their health, safety and wellbeing, only just over half of bosses (59%) now think that a proactive approach to health and safety enhances the bottom line compared to 72% in 2007.

In 2007/08 non-existent or inferior health & safety measures in the workplace killed 229 men and women and injured 136,000 employees - costing the industry £7.8bn.

Workers feel safer

The survey shows a noticeable improvement in workers' perceptions of their own safety since opinion was first measured in 2007. The proportion who feels 'very safe' has increased significantly, from 57% to 71%, while the proportion who does not feel safe has dropped from 7% to 4%. Overall, 96% of employees now feel safe at work, with 98% of bosses believing their workplace to be safe.

Regional Statistics

Employees in Wales feel the safest in the UK, with 84% saying they feel very safe compared to two thirds (67%) in 2007. Perceptions of workplace safety are particularly high in Yorkshire and Humberside, the South West, the East Midlands and East Anglia.

In the North West, almost half of workers feel very safe (49%, a decline from 61% in 2007). 17% in the region say their employer is bad at reminding them of their responsibilities regarding health and safety, compared with a national average of 6%.

Sector safety

Those who work in construction have shown a considerable improvement in their perception of safety, with only 2% feeling unsafe compared with 21% in 2007.

The catering/hospitality sector 11% do not feel safe at work compared to an average of 4%.

Almost a quarter of workers here say they are now less likely to raise a health and safety concern with their employer, due to the economic climate, compared with an average of 11%.

You can download the full report from the British Safety Council website.

Getting hot and bothered at work

The TUC is calling for an introduction of a new upper limit in temperature in the workplace. Currently, employees are expected to not work in temperatures lower than 16°C (13°C for physical work), however there are no limits for when the temperature gets too hot.

With summers predicted to get hotter and drier in the years to come, the TUC warns that offices and factories will become potentially hazardous places to work.

In their report, the TUC states that working in high temperatures can cause the following health implications:

• Heat rashes
• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Fainting
• Heat cramps
• Affect on concentration/tiredness

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "Even when the summers are bad, as last year's was, the temperature in some workplaces can be unbearable for employees and potentially dangerous in others. No-one is expected to work in sub-zero temperatures but overheated employees are meant to carry on regardless of how high the office temperature soars. We need to see action now, before the impact of climate change is felt and our summers become hotter than ever."

A recent survey undertaken by the TUC showed that 94% of respondents thought that their workplaces were too hot to work in last summer. 42% of respondents stated that they worked in unbearably hot conditions on a regular basis.

View the TUC's report on maximum temperatures in the workplace.