Safety Matters - january 2007

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In this issue:

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published new guidance for employers on dealing with alcohol problems at work

July predicated as date for Corporate Manslaughter Act

Employees and their managers have been urged to 'Break the Sound Barrier' and test their hearing

Changes to the Building Regulations to introduce requirements regarding the installation of sprinklers in new buildings and developments

Eighty five per cent of UK workers fail to take a full lunch break, a new study shows

Construction companies and developers have been dealt a stark reminder of the need to ensure that excavation work is carried out safely, after an investigation and prosecution by the HSE

The HSE has published new guidance for safety representatives on the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006

Company fined that forgot to manage workplace transport risks

The Stannah worker denied a stairlift at company HQ

Are your company's safety systems up to scratch or are you risking prosecution? At MESH we have extensive experience of helping companies to improve their health and safety and in many cases improve their competitiveness.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published new guidance for employers on dealing with alcohol problems at work

According the HSE, alcohol accounts for between 3 and 5 per cent of all absences from work - this equates to 8 to 14 million lost working days in the UK each year.

The new guidance entitled Don't mix it! is aimed at small and medium sized employers and covers:

• The effects of alcohol on an individual;
• The legal position, including the risk of prosecution employers face if they knowingly allow employees to continue working under the influence of alcohol;
• The implications of introducing an alcohol screening policy.

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July predicated as date for Corporate Manslaughter Act

The bill had its first and second reading in the House of Lords in December and is set to go before a Grand Committee in January/February 07. Many feel that the bill will be enacted on, or before 21st July 2007.

In the revised draft, clause 8 requires that juries should consider whether a corporate culture existed that encouraged, tolerated or led to management failures. This is the first time that this consideration has been “enshrined in the UK statute”.

Amendments in the wording of the controversial senior management test have also been made to ensure that organisations are not prosecuted on the basis of isolated, low-level management failings. It will no longer be necessary to prosecute a director or senior manager in order to prosecute a company.

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Employees and their managers have been urged to 'Break the Sound Barrier' and test their hearing

For the second year running, the RNID, the charity for deaf and hard of hearing people, and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) are urging people to benefit from a free check which has already been used by 300,000 people.

The TUC will be encouraging the UK's 28 million workers to take the unique hearing check as one of their New Year's Resolutions, as it believes that there are many more who could benefit from the check to discover their level of hearing loss. Employers are also being urged to encourage staff to take the confidential, five minute check on 0845 600 55 55.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "Hearing loss is a real problem at work for many employees, who may be reluctant to own up to the fact that they can't hear as well as they used to be able to because they are worried that they may be sidelined as a result. Employers should be supportive to staff who are losing their hearing and encourage them to take this important check, without fear of being treated less favourably, whatever the outcome."

John Low, chief executive at RNID, said: "Hearing loss can have a significant impact on an employee’s ability to interact with colleagues, managers and clients. Staff may be hiding their hearing loss which can lead them to become increasingly isolated and withdrawn".

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New requirements regarding the installation of sprinklers in new buildings and developments in England and Wales are among the amendments to be introduced to the Building Regulations

The amendments will enter into force on 6th April 2007 and also feature new guidance on fire protection for residential care homes, the authorisation of a number of new competent persons self-certification schemes, and notes on the use of door-closing devices in dwellings.

It is hoped that the new guidance represents better, more focussed regulation that will deliver real benefits for both occupants and fire fighters alike. The review that led to the changes looked at fire safety in all types of premises, including dwellings, residential care homes, public buildings and warehouses. It also considered the important role that sprinklers and other types of fire protection measures may have, particularly in buildings where the occupants are most at risk from fire.

More details on the new requirements can be found at: www.dclg.gov.uk.

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Eighty five per cent of UK workers fail to take a full lunch break, a new study shows

Health and fitness website Realbuzz.com questioned over 2,000 workers and found that 70 per cent have a shorter lunch break than five years ago while 40 per cent never take a lunch break at all due to heavy workloads.

Realbuzz.com founder Tim Rodgers said: "Working long hours without a break increases workplace stress, contributes to low morale in the organisation, and has serious health and safety implications.

"We would urge all employers and employees to turn over a new leaf for 2007 by taking proper breaks and recognising the importance and benefits of a good work-life balance."

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Construction companies and developers have been dealt a stark reminder of the need to ensure that excavation work is carried out safely, after an investigation and prosecution by the HSE

Rosekey Limited and director Mr Kashmir Singh Atwal of Bexleyheath, Kent, were fined after both pleaded guilty to breaches of s.3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, at Croydon Crown Court.

The prosecution follows an incident in 2004 when a bookshop and the two flats above it partially collapsed in the middle of the night. Rosekey Limited had been contracted to build a new shop and flats next door, and over the previous few days excavations had taken place on the site to form the foundations of the new building. A trench was dug alongside the bookshop wall, at a depth that undermined its foundations. There was no suitable support provided for the excavation or the shop.

The investigating HSE inspector, Alec Ferguson, commented after the hearing: "This was an utterly needless and preventable incident caused by a company with a poor health and safety record. Mr Atwal was in everyday control of the site, but failed to ensure that construction work was carried out safely, due to his neglect."

The HSE has published new guidance for safety representatives on the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006

The brief guidance explains the dangers of asbestos generally and highlights the key changes brought in by the new regulations.

Issues covered include:

• What asbestos is, and why it is dangerous;
• Where it is likely to be found;
• Who is likely to be exposed to asbestos fibres;
• What's new in the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006;
• What should be done if asbestos materials are thought to be present.

Copies of 'The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006: A Guide for Safety Representatives' are available from: www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/repsguide.pdf.

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Company fined that forgot to manage workplace transport risks

A printing firm that had so many high-risk processes to manage that it “forgot” about workplace transport was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay costs of £18,895. This was following an accident where an employee was crushed by a tow tractor.

The company had failed to undertake suitable and sufficient risk assessment and failed to maintain the tow tractor in an efficient working order. The court heard that the 21 year old employee was driving the three-wheeled battery-operated tow tractor and that the vehicle was not fitted with a seat belt and that its cab doors were missing. The employee also had not received sufficient training in how to drive it.

When driven over an uneven floor surface the tractor toppled over and the rim of the cab crushed the driver, causing him to sustain fatal injuries.

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The Stannah worker denied a stairlift at company HQ

The name Stannah Stairlift has become a byword for making life easy for the elderly and infirm.

But when a disabled employee asked the company to install one of its devices at its head office to help him get to his second floor office, a manager laughed at the idea.

"Everyone would want to ride on it and no work would get done," he was told.

David Ratcliffe, 36, failed to see the joke and the company has now been ordered to pay £6,000 compensation by an employment tribunal for discriminating against him on the basis of his disability.

The married father-of-three, who has several collapsed discs in his back and walks using crutches, joined the firm's head office in Andover, Hampshire, as an IT designer in October last year.

He had difficulty negotiating the stairs to his office and had to go to the first floor every time he needed the toilet.

When he approached line manager Alison Dickson the day after joining the firm to ask whether one of its own stairlifts could be installed, she ridiculed the suggestion.

In a written judgement the tribunal ruled the company had failed to make "reasonable adjustments" for a disabled employee and this week awarded him compensation.

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