Safety Matters - NOVEMBER 2006

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In this issue:

HSE research report reveals benefits of board-level direction in health and safety

Trades Union Congress (TUC) revealed that bullying is steadily increasing in UK workplaces

HSE survey identifies that migrant workers face an increasing risk of workplace accidents because they work in more hazardous jobs, work longer hours and have limited understanding of health and safety

New EU proposals would allow the UK to keep it’s opting out from the 48 hour working week limit but stricter conditions would apply

The Government has pledged to amend draft legislation on workplace deaths to make it easier to prosecute negligent companies

Trades Union Congress (TUC) reveals that stress is still the biggest problem facing UK workplaces

The HSE has issued new guidance on managing asbestos in non-domestic premises

Driving at work risks revealed

Boss is jailed for manslaughter

Kent Company fined after visitor fell into an unguarded and unlit pit

MD of small firm is fined following fatality involving a forklift truck

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.

HSE research report reveals benefits of board-level direction in health and safety

The research was carried out in order to provide business leaders with case-study material with which they can identify and which would persuade them of the benefits that effective leadership in occupational health and safety can bring to the business as well as to health and safety.

The eight case studies look at Amec, ANC Express, BRE, British Sugar, Goldthorn Park, Mid & West Wales Fire & Rescue Service, Neales Waste and Sainsbury's, all of which have board-level leadership and direction in health and safety.

The research concludes that the eight organisations have very similar motives for providing such board-level leadership, have taken similar actions, and have reaped similar benefits; the key reasons for board-level direction relate to social responsibility, corporate risk and reputation and business productivity.

Copies of 'RR499: Case Studies That Identify and Exemplify Boards of Directors Who Provide Leadership and Direction on Occupational Health and Safety' are available from: www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr499.pdf.

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Trades Union Congress (TUC) revealed that bullying is steadily increasing in UK workplaces

Of the union safety reps surveyed in the latest TUC bi-annual survey, 15 per cent said that bullying was a major problem in their workplace, compared to 12 per cent in 2004 and 10 per cent in 2002.

"Bullying is bad for business and for people. Bullies in the workplace must not go unchallenged and should not be given free rein to intimidate and victimise their colleagues." said TUC general secretary Brendan Barber. "For individuals who are targeted by the office bully, the taunting and the jibes can severely damage their work and their home lives.”

Bullying is not hard to tackle. Every workplace should have a policy in which it makes clear that intimidating behaviour towards colleagues will not be tolerated and that those who persist in undermining their fellow members of staff will be dealt with severely.


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HSE survey identifies that migrant workers face an increasing risk of workplace accidents because they work in more hazardous jobs, work longer hours and have limited understanding of health and safety

According to the survey, which questioned 200 migrant workers in five regions of England and Wales, communication difficulties and the fact that migrants are more likely to take up work in sectors in which they have not been trained also contribute to a number of accidents.

To tackle the issues raised by the findings, the HSE recommends that its inspectors should; have better targeted HSE inspections; targeted health and safety advice and better enforcement and supporting activity.

New EU proposals would allow the UK to keep it’s opting out from the 48 hour working week limit but stricter conditions would apply

Under the current working time directive, employees cannot work more than an average of 48 hours per week, calculated over a "reference period" of 12 months.

The Government has pledged to amend draft legislation on workplace deaths to make it easier to prosecute negligent companies

The Corporate Liability and Corporate Homicide Bill has passed its crucial second reading stage in the Commons and will be debated and amended before going to a vote later this year.

In response to concerns that the Bill's test of liability for employers is too narrow, the Home Secretary, John Reid, promised that the Government would make amendments to the draft legislation to take account of the way that fatal activity had been managed in general in an organisation.

The Labour Party conference voted overwhelmingly for directors' duties to include health and safety, carrying a custodial sentence in the most severe cases.

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Trades Union Congress (TUC) reveals that stress is still the biggest problem facing UK workplaces

New TUC research indicates that 61 per cent of union safety reps found stress to be their most pressing concern; this is up by 3 per cent from 2004 and 5 per cent from 2002. Excessive workloads (76 per cent), job cuts (57 per cent) and rapid change (53 per cent) were given as the most common factors that led to stress at work, with long hours and bullying also contributing.

Commenting on the findings Brendan Barber, TUC general secretary, said: "Stress is a preventable problem and UK employers simply aren't doing enough to minimise its impact. People who suffer from stress aren't wimps, and their symptoms can make them really ill".

It is recognised that time taken off work because of stress is costing UK businesses some £3.7 billion a year, so it makes no sense for employers to be ignoring the problem. Bosses should be doing all they can to make sure their workplaces become as stress-free as possible.

In an attempt to break the deadlock over the issue, the Finnish presidency has suggested that countries could keep the opt out under more rigid conditions for the reference period, so that employees could work a maximum of 60 hours a week calculated over just four months.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued new guidance on managing asbestos in non-domestic premises

The publication gives advice on complying with the duty in regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises.

It explains the duties of building owners, tenants and anyone else with legal responsibilities for such premises.

The regulation requires:

• Taking reasonable steps to find asbestos-containing materials in premises and checking their condition;
• Presuming materials contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence to suppose they do not;
• Keeping an up-to-date written record of the location and condition of asbestos-containing materials;
• Assessing the risk of exposure to asbestos-containing materials;
• Preparing and putting into effect a plan to manage the risk.

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Driving at work risks revealed

The Department for Transport has revealed new statistics showing 54,935 accidents involving vehicles whilst at work during 2005. This averages at 151 for every day of the year.

Road safety organisations are urging the government to publish figures relating to the number of deaths and injuries involving at work drivers.

They have called for all fatal and serious injury crashes connected to driving at work to be investigated by the HSE. Currently these events are not required to be reported under the RIDDOR regulations, but the HSE has commented that the ongoing review of RIDDOR will decide if this should change.

Boss is jailed for manslaughter

Following an appeal court review the company boss was jailed for 15 months for the manslaughter of a 22 year old employee. The appeal judges ruled that the original two year suspended sentence was “unduly lenient”.

The company had previously been charged for a raft of health and safety offences for which it had pleaded not guilty but was found guilty of two offences. The boss Michael Shaw also pleaded not guilty to seven offences, but was found guilty of all of them. The company was fined £20,000 and Michael Shaw was fined £40,000.

Kent Company fined after visitor fell into an unguarded and unlit pit

The company was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,000 after the man fell into the pit and sustained serious injuries. Channel Commercials pleaded guilty for failing to prevent an HGV driver from falling into a vehicle wash-pit.

He had been called in to collect a trailer, as he had done many times previously, when the accident occurred. The company had changed the collection point in response to a previous HSE visit. As the driver approached the vehicle to attach a number plate he fell into the 1.4 metre deep concrete lined pit, suffering head cuts, a fractured shoulder and a sprained ankle.

MD of small firm is fined following fatality involving a forklift truck

The MD of a small landscape gardening firm was prosecuted after his yard manager was run over and killed by the vehicle. The company was fined £42,000 and ordered to pay costs of £8,000 and the director was also fined £10,000.

It was found that keys had been left in the ignition, that the truck had a defective handbrake and that it had not been maintained or examined to ensure its safety. There had been no risk assessments carried out to ensure the hazards in the yard were safely controlled.

The manager had used the truck to create a noise source to demonstrate some ear defenders to a customer. After turning the keys left in the ignition she became trapped under the wheels and later died from her injuries.

The company in defence identified that the truck was old and rarely used, and that its condition was an oversight rather than an attempt to cut costs.