Archived News
General News
RIDDOR reporting period extension gets the green light
The reporting period for injuries sustained at work is to be extended from three to seven days, following analysis of responses to the consultation on RIDDOR carried out earlier this year. This change is expected to come into force in April 2012.
HSE’s Infoline, which currently provides a basic information service to callers ended on 30 September 2011. Businesses and members of the public seeking information and official guidance on health and safety can use HSE's website - a huge knowledge bank where people can access and download information free of charge and use interactive web tools.
At Simply Health and Safety we believe this to be a backward step. Even if you are a experienced H&S consultant it is not always so easy to find the right answer using the web. Many people still prefer to talk with a human being. We don’t know of any other body that has made such a move. It’s a sign of the times and various cut backs but not one that we agree with.
Key HSE Annual Figures 2010/11
- 1.2 million working people were suffering from a work-related illness.
- 171 workers killed at work.
- 115 000 injuries were reported under RIDDOR.
- 200 000 reportable injuries (over 3 day absence) occurred (LFS).
- 26.4 million working days were lost due to work-related illness and workplace injury.
Simply Risk Control Ltd (SRC) launches surveymaster™
Our sister company has successfully launched an online property surveying tool for the insurance industry.
Visit our website.
Recent HSE Prosecutions and Enforcements
Corporate Manslaughter Appeal Rebuffed
The Court of Appeal has recently refused an application from Cotswold Geotechnical (Holdings) Ltd for leave to appeal against its conviction and sentence imposed in February, following the first corporate manslaughter trial.
The company, which was found guilty of corporate manslaughter over the death of employee Alexander Wright in September 2008, was fined £385,000, to be paid in equal installments over a 10-year period.
QEB Hollis Whiteman Chambers, whose members Mark Ellison QC and Adrian Derbyshire helped prosecute the company, said in a statement: “The Lord Chief Justice said the applicant’s arguments did not show any possible basis for criticising the way in which the judge had approached the question of whether it was unfair to try the company in the absence of its managing director, who was too ill to participate in the proceedings.
“As far as sentence was concerned, the fine imposed was appropriate. To limit a fine to the level which this company was capable of paying would have resulted in a ludicrous penalty. The trial judge correctly applied the Sentencing Guidelines, had regard to the need to consider the means of the company, but also had regard to the recognition in the guidelines that, in some cases, putting the company out of business may be inevitable, as it was in this case.”
Fall from ladder
A Norfolk chicken processing firm has been fined £6,500 after one of its employees fell from a ladder and broke his back. More workers are injured by falling from a ladder than any other access equipment.
Environmental Management
A recent survey revealed that nearly a quarter of businesses said their organisation struggled with communicating how and why to recycle to employees to create lasting behaviour change. Find out what Jaguar Land Rover did.
Myth of the month
Myth: Children are banned from throwing snowballs
The reality
Every year we hear inaccurate stories about children who aren’t allowed to throw snowballs, and swimmers who can’t take their traditional winter dip in the local lake. All this in the name of health and safety.
If we spend time on the trivial risks there’s a chance we’ll miss the most important ones. We need to focus on finding ways for things to happen, not reasons to stop them - a sensible approach to managing risk focuses on practical action to tackle risks that cause real harm and suffering.
Moan Corner
Have you ever noticed when you return through UK Passport control that the officer never smiles? They never say welcome home or something similar (except on the rarest of occasions). Are they trained to be straight faced and glum or do they not enjoy their job? So come on all you travellers, next time you come back from overseas see if you can make them smile or better still, laugh!
SHAS Photo Gallery
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| The ladder is not tied off; the worker is not wearing any fall arrest harness and the ladder is poorly footed on uneven ground with no one at ground level – a recipe for disaster | On a recent site visit I found hundreds of Dyson vacuum cleaners ready to be recycled. What does this tell us? |
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| Will this catch on? At least he has the water to extinguish the fire afterwards | This dartboard is positioned next to an open door with no protection or warning for those walking past |
Archived News
View our archived news articles
HSE News
Links
| Acts of the UK Parliament | www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts.htm |
| British Standards Institution (BSI) | www.bsi-global.com |
| Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) | www.cieh.org |
| CITB The Construction Industry Training Board | www.citb.co.uk |
| Climate Care | www.climatecare.org |
| Environment Agency | www.environment-agency.gov.uk |
| European Agency for Safety and Health at Work | uk.osha.eu.int |
| Environment and Energy Helpline | www.envirowise.gov.uk |
| Fire Protection Association (FPA) | www.thefpa.co.uk |
| Food Standards Agency | www.food.gov.uk/ |
| Health & Safety Executive | www.hse.gov.uk |
| Health & Safety Executive for Northern Ireland | www.hseni.gov.uk |
| HSE Books | www.books.hse.gov.uk |
| Incident Contact Centre | www.riddor.gov.uk |
| Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment | www.iema.net |
| IOSH | www.iosh.co.uk |
| NEBOSH | www.nebosh.org.uk/ |
| OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health & Safety Zone | www.ohsas-18001-occupational-health-and-safety.com |
| Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) | www.sepa.org.uk |
| Trades Union Congress (TUC) | www.tuc.org.uk |
