The HSE (Health & Safety Executive) have produced some improved guidance on managing Health & Safety and controlling risk with some excellent example risk assessment templates for businesses such as:
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Violence and aggression at work can have a serious impact on your workers physical and mental health.
The guidance will help you assess the risks, put the right controls in place to protect workers and report incidents and learn from them. We have specific guidance on how to support your workers after a violent incident. There are also examples drawn from typical situations. We have separate advice for workers, which explains how they can help employers prevent violent incidents at work. |
Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “Violence and aggression in the workplace and world in general seems to be on the increase with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) saying that in 2019-2020 there were 688,000 reported incidents of violence at work. As part of our Employee Handbook and the HR Policies and Procedures we ensure a detailed section if written that provides clear and practical guidelines to businesses and their team on how to manage correctly, to best practice and the law. Nobody comes to work to experience bullying, violence or aggression and should this occur companies and their teams should ensure that s comprehensive process of action and recording is put in place for all member of the team. The HSE gives some excellent examples of this in the information shown in the HSE article above.”
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Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, Owner or Consensus HR comments: “Well, another death reported by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) due to an employee working at Heights and not having the correct equipment for the job and falling to his death. In this situation the HSE stated that the company had not planned for getting the rope access equipment on to and off the roof safely, and provided no instructions to the operatives. The HSE provides excellent guidance on roof work which can be found on their website or by clicking here.”
Father-of-one Dennis Vincent, 36, and another worker were using ropes to install a lightning protection system to the front of a Warrington office block being converted into flats.
Mr Vincent, who was from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, was lowering the access equipment from the roof, using a rope attached to a frame at roof level and a handrail at ground level. As he did so, both he and the frame fell from the roof to the ground.
The incident happened on 24 February 2021 at Palmyra House, Palmyra Square in Warrington.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Mr Vincent’s employer, PTSG Electrical Services Limited, failed to adequately assess the risks associated with this work, giving little consideration to the work at height hierarchy of control and opting for personal protection measures over more suitable collective protection measures, such as scaffolding or a mobile elevating work platform (MEWP).
In addition to this, the company had not planned for getting the rope access equipment on to and off the roof safely, providing no instructions to the operatives.
HSE guidance on roof work can be found at: Construction – Roof work industry health & safety (hse.gov.uk)
PTSG Electrical Services Limited, of Flemming Court, Whistler Drive, Castleford, West Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay £5448.51 in costs at Wirral Magistrates’ Court on 9 February 2023.
HSE inspector Sara Andrews said: “Our thoughts today are with the family of Dennis Vincent, a young dad and husband who did not return home on 24 February 2021 because of the failings of his employer.
“This incident could easily have been avoided by better planning of the work to ensure adequate controls were in place to prevent falls from the roof. Whilst rope access techniques are appropriate in some circumstances, they should only be used if more appropriate measures, such as fixed scaffolding, cannot be.
“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”
A further two companies will appear at Liverpool Crown Court later this year in relation to the incident, after pleading not guilty at an earlier hearing.
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Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “Another interesting Health & Safety fact from the Health & Safety Executive. 29 fatal injuries occurred in 21/22 due to falls. The HSE and Ladder Association have created a very informative guidance document. This updated guidance now highlights the importance of training and offers expanded guidance on different types of portable ladders, such as telescopic ladders and combination (or multi-purpose) ladders and is available by clicking on the link within the article. This is just one of the many areas within Health & Safety that employers need to ensure are managed correctly and the appropriate development for the team taken and correct Health & Safety Policies and Procedures in place to avoid such fatal injuries.”
 Falls when working at height remain the most common kind of workplace fatality.HSE’s annual fatality statistics reported that there were 29 fatal injuries caused by falling from height in 2021/22.
Ladders and stepladders are not banned under health and safety law. They can be a sensible and practical option for low-risk, short-duration tasks, although they should not automatically be your first choice.
To help you make sure you use the right type of ladder, and that you know how to use it safely, our website has guidance on staying safe when using ladders at work. It includes:
You can also download the guidance document Safe use of ladders and stepladders, which was jointly produced by HSE and the Ladder Association.
For more information and advice visit our working at height website. |
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Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “As with all areas of Health & Safety, you should always Make sure you are working safety with DSE. Many employees nowadays spend hours at their desks on their PC’s without taking a break, let alone the statutory legal amount they are entitled to take but failure to ensure your Display Screen Equipment (DSE) is not maintained to the standard required can / will result in problems with the team’s health such as bad posture. The Health and Safety Executive provides some excellent tools for use by employers as shown in this recent checklist provided by them.”
All employers must protect workers from the health risks of working with display screen equipment (DSE).
Incorrect use of DSE or poorly designed workstations or work environments can lead to pain in necks, shoulders, backs, arms, wrists and hands, as well as fatigue and eye strain.
Our guidance covers a range of topics including:
There are also accessible resources including our DSE workstation checklist and practical tips on maintaining a good posture.
In addition, we have guidance on what employers and workers need to know about working with DSE from home
A food production company has been fined £858,000 after an employee had his arm amputated after becoming entangled in an industrial food mixer.
Lee Simpson was removing filling ingredients from a paddle mixer, from which the contents could be removed at the front, at David Wood Baking Limited’s premises in Sheerness, Kent when his right hand and arm were drawn in.
Lee, from Sheerness, who was 26 years old at the time, had to have his arm surgically removed.
He said he has now lost much of his independence. He said: “Life has changed so much since the accident and I am doing everything I can to improve, but it will never be the same.
“Since my accident I have become dependent on others, primarily my family and fiancée, to complete daily activities for me, such as cooking and domestic tasks such as doing the laundry.”
The incident happened on September 27, 2021 at the Mill House, Dorset Road, Sheerness, where David Wood Baking Limited makes sausage rolls, quiches and other food products.
For further reading, click here to the HSE.
Is continually becoming more complex and the average costs of getting it wrong have never been higher – Average £8.5k per day x 4 days for attendance at an Employment Tribunal (£34k). This is why we at Consensus HR can provide your business with access to a local and professionally legally qualified HR Consultant for practical onsite or off-site employment law advice, at low cost monthly fee.
We support our monthly retained clients with everything from poor attendance of employees, introducing reward / benefit & performance management schemes, training & development to daily line management difficulties and Clients can either email or call us for the right HR advice and we can provide legally / best practice drafted letters for any situation.
Matthew Pinto-Chilcott of Consensus HR comments: “Following our numerous previous Health & Safety (H&S)j Emails, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) have produced some more great user friendly tools in relation to two more key H&S areas, Preventing stress at work and ensuring you know the COSHH essentials. Businesses always need to ensure that they are at the forefront of HR and People Welfare and their duty under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and these free H&S tools are a way to achieve this. Details and links for all these can be seen below and on the HSE website.
According to the latest statistics (PDF) there were 914,000 workers suffering from work-related stress, depression or
anxiety in 2021/22. 17 million working days were lost due to stress in this period.
HSE’s stress website has plenty of advice and includes examples of stress risk assessments tailored to different business sizes, as well as case studies and much more. The stress talking toolkit shows how line managers can have simple, practical conversations with employees to help prevent stress at work.
Our Working Minds campaign aims to prevent work-related stress and encourage good mental health.
If you work with hazardous substances, our COSHH website can help you understand the actions you should take to stay healthy.
Our publication Working with substances hazardous to health: A brief guide to COSHH is available to download. It explains how to control exposure and comply with the Regulations.
HSE’s COSHH Safe Handling Chemicals poster also provides crucial guidance on how to handle chemicals safely in your workplace, including Do’s and Don’ts and a useful hazardous signs check.
Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “it is great to see that the Health & Safety Executive are now up with the times in relation to technology and are providing some HSE podcasts for business owners to listen to such as their latest two shown below, Manual Handling in construction and work-related stress mental health and Working Minds. These are only two of their very important subjects when it comes to Health & Safety and the podcasts are interesting and an informative listen. They also have podcasts of a range of other Health & Safety subjects such as COSHH, DSE etc with quizzes to go with them. These are a great starting point for your employees / company’s knowledge but would also highly recommend training, discussions / demonstrations from Health & Safety professionals to ensure full understanding and practice within your industry.
Within my HR and management experience, we always ensured that the Health & Safety basics were taught to new team members at induction with the company. Subjects included:
Amongst many food hygiene regulations due to the industry, I worked in. Businesses need to ensure that using Risk Assessments and sector requirements that the appropriate HSE development is required as when within Utilities, additional health and safety training / development was required such as working at heights, Abrasive wheels, ladder training etc.
As part of our regular blogs, we have started to write many health & safety blogs with key information from the HSE and their findings which have resulted in serious injuries and deaths of employees and cannot emphasise enough the importance of getting this right with the team.”
Two new episodes of the HSE Podcast have recently been released and are available to download.
The series of free podcasts cover a range of subject matters to help businesses and workers understand HSE’s strategic priorities, its campaigns, and the main challenges we collectively need to address.
Access the latest episodes:
Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, BA (Hons), Owner comments: “This is a subject that has always played a big part in working environment whether it is too hot or too cold. Everybody has their personal choice and sometimes the effect of having the incorrect temperature in an office / work environment can result in difficult circumstances.
Business Owners / Managers need to discuss with their teams, should this be an issue to find a suitable temperature for all and remember that their is a minimum temperature but no upper temperature!
With winter vastly approaching, please find advice from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to support you and your teams during this winter period”
As winter takes hold, you can find helpful advice from HSE on keeping people as comfortable as possible when working in the cold. There is also guidance on protecting workers from hot temperatures.Our guidance has been refreshed to make it easier to find and understand advice on how to protect workers in both low and high temperatures. The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations require employers to provide a reasonable indoor temperature in the workplace. Our guidance explains how you can assess the risks to workers and put controls in place to protect them. It covers:
There is a workplace temperature checklist to help you carry out a basic risk assessment. We have also updated sources of advice, including practical steps you can take in the summer months to protect workers during a heatwave. |
Matthew Pinto-Chilcott the owner of Consensus HR comments: “The statistics are a very good read and very interesting to find out exactly what has been happening in the workplace when it comes to Health & Safety. Stress, depression and anxiety rates very highly with 914,000 cases and which is an area we find a lot of our clients have been asking a lot of questions on and requiring support and advice to ensure the welfare of their teams and the successful running of the business.
A total of 36.8 million days were lost due to work-related ill health and non-fatal workplace injuries in 2021/22 and the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact on the workplace. Of the 1.8 million suffering a work-related illness, an estimated 585,000 reported it was caused or made worse by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The HR / Health & Safety strategy of all companies is vital for the company’s success to adhere to legislation but also best practice and employee welfare and company sales / turnover. Employers and Line Managers need to ensure that they get the best support / advice so that these issues can be dealt with quickly, efficiently and cost effectively.”
The estimated number of workers in Great Britain suffering a work-related illness is 1.8 million with stress, depression, and anxiety making up around half of cases, new figures show.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has today (Wednesday November 23) published its annual statistics on work-related ill health and workplace injuries.
The figures from Great Britain’s workplace regulator show there were an estimated 914,000 cases of work-related stress, depression, or anxiety in 2021/22.
An estimated 17 million working days were lost due to work-related stress, depression, or anxiety in 2021/22. This is over half of all working days lost due to work-related ill health.
HSE has been warning of a growing crisis in stress and poor mental health related to work. The workplace regulator launched a major campaign last year to remind employers of their responsibilities to their employees’ mental health.
HSE’s Chief Executive, Sarah Albon, said: “Stress and poor mental health is the number one cause of work-related ill health. The effects of stress, depression, and anxiety can have a significant impact on an employee’s life and on their ability to perform their best at work.
“Britain is one of the safest places in the world to work but we need all employers to do more and take seriously their responsibilities to support good mental health at work. That’s why improving mental health in the workplace is a key priority in our 10-year strategy ‘Protecting People and Places’, and why we’re developing new partnerships across industry to help employers support their employees.”
HSE’s annual statistics release shows the impact work-related ill health is having on Great Britain’s economic performance:
The figures also show that 123 workers were killed in work-related accidents in 2021/22 and a further 565,000 workers sustained a non-fatal injury.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact on the workplace. Of the 1.8 million suffering a work-related illness, an estimated 585,000 reported it was caused or made worse by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Around a quarter of these workers were in human health and social work. In addition, 123,000 workers suffering with COVID-19 believed they were exposed to the virus at work.
Matthew Pinto-Chilcott the owner of Consensus HR comments: ” Slips, Trips and Falls have always been some of the most frequent events that happen under Health & Safety in the workplace and this week’s report from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) demonstrates this, with two fatal accidents involving falling occurring with one resulting in the death of the employee and the other, the employee in a coma.
In both of these cases the HSE ruled under the following clauses within the Health & Safety Act 1974 and Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and the clauses that both of these incidents were referred to can be seen below:
13.— (1) The principal contractor must plan, manage and monitor the construction phase and coordinate matters relating to health and safety during the construction phase to ensure that, so far as is reasonably practicable, construction work is carried out without risks to health or safety.
(2) In fulfilling the duties in paragraph (1), and in particular when—
(a)design, technical and organisational aspects are being decided in order to plan the various items or stages of work which are to take place simultaneously or in succession; and
(b)estimating the period of time required to complete the work or work stages,
the principal contractor must take into account the general principles of prevention.
(3) The principal contractor must—
(a)organise cooperation between contractors (including successive contractors on the same construction site).
(b)coordinate implementation by the contractors of applicable legal requirements for health and safety; and
(c)ensure that employers and, if necessary for the protection of workers, self-employed persons—
(i)apply the general principles of prevention in a consistent manner, and in particular when complying with the provisions of Part 4; and
(ii)where required, follow the construction phase plan.
(4) The principal contractor must ensure that—
(a)a suitable site induction is provided;
(b)the necessary steps are taken to prevent access by unauthorised persons to the construction site; and
(c)facilities that comply with the requirements of Schedule 2 are provided throughout the construction phase.
(5) The principal contractor must liaise with the principal designer for the duration of the principal designer’s appointment and share with the principal designer information relevant to the planning, management and monitoring of the pre-construction phase and the coordination of health and safety matters during the pre-construction phase.
These just two examples of where poor Health & Safety have resulted in extreme outcomes and full details of the cases can be found by clicking below”:
The Health & Safety Executive have this week written an excellent Bulletin on Seasonal Workers and having a Accident Book with some very useful tools for your business.
Matthew Pinto-Chilcott – Owner of Consensus HR comments: “Following our recent blog on the importance and legal requirement of having a Health & Safety Poster up in your workplace, the recent HSE weekly bulletin commented on the need for an Accident book which is a fundamental basic for H&S in the workplace. Employers / Managers should always ensure that they enter any accidents that take place in the workplace and that all areas of the book are completed correctly with as much information as possible and photos if possible as this will help, should you need the information in the future for such things as an Insurance claim and making adjustments to the workplace.”
With many seasonal jobs being filled at this time of year, it is important that employers protect the health and safety of gig economy, agency and temporary workers.Workers are as likely to have an accident in their first 6 months at work as during the whole of the rest of their working life. We have further advice around protecting those who are new to the job, including 6 ways to protect new starters. Our website has guidance to help users and suppliers of agency and temporary workers understand their health and safety responsibilities. If you are an agency or temporary worker your health and safety is protected by law and employment businesses (agencies) have a duty to make sure they follow it. |
The HSE Accident Book is a valuable document that organisations can use to record accident information.The Accident Book can be used to record details of all work-related accidents, including injuries from accidents at work that employers must report under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013(RIDDOR). The book contains 50 perforated accident record forms and is designed support users in complying with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). |