COMPANY NEWS
Forthcoming Courses
Forthcoming dates and fees for courses for 2020 are as follows. Please contact Vicki at Wenlock Health & Safety Ltd (WHS) on 01952 885885 or vicki@wenlockhs.co.uk to book.
Note that all courses will be held at our offices in Jackfield, Telford. However, if any organisation requires attendance by 6 or more employees, a specific course can be arranged at a date, time and location to suit. Please contact the WHS office to discuss your requirements and agree costs.
All course fees below include tea & coffee and all course literature. However, lunch is included on some, but not all, courses; it is important to check the details below.
First Aid
Forthcoming dates for the WHS 1-day Emergency First Aid courses are as follows:
Duration: 1 day (6 hours)
Dates:
- 25 February 2020
- 26 March 2020
- 28 April 2020
- 27 May 2020
- 26 June 2020
- 28 July 2020
- 27 August 2020
- 25 September 2020
Cost: £85 + VAT per person
Lunch is provided
WHS can also run the full 3-day First Aid at Work course for companies who need additional skills and wish to send 4+ candidates; contact Vicki for fees. However, do initially discuss first aid requirements with your own WHS consultant to assess whether the 3-day course is actually appropriate for your circumstances.
Other Course
Don’t forget that WHS offers a wealth of courses to suit your needs, from standard COSHH, work at height, abrasive wheels, fire & emergency, asbestos awareness, etc to more specific courses tailored to relate to your particular type of work, such as lone working and personal safety, manual handling, etc.
Whatever your requirements, contact us first because, in most cases, costs will be extremely competitive as you will be charged per hour not per person; i.e. the cost will be the same for 10 people as 2, so get your money’s worth!
Contact Vicki at WHS to discuss you particular requirements and costs.
WHS Safety Awards
As announced in the last newsletter, we were delighted to recognise significant achievements in the field of health & safety during 2019 (within the WHS client base) by bestowing two awards. The responses from the two recipients since the announcement have been noteworthy in that, not only has internal company morale been boosted, but very positive responses have also been received from their own clients. So, we once again, we sincerely congratulate our winners:
- Morris Property Ltd whose management have presided over a continuing year-on-year improvement to health & safety compliance, including an enviable record on training their workforce to the highest degree.
We see here James West and Steve Flavell accepting the award on behalf of Morris Property Ltd for Commitment to Safety from WHS Technical Director, Laura Mort.Matt Kershaw of Edgebourn Building Contractors (Stourbridge) who has demonstrated a dedication to the wellbeing of Company employees, and also the safety of some of the most vulnerable members of the public with the Company’s work with social housing.
- Matt is seen here accepting his award for Commitment to Continual Improvement from WHS Managing Director, Jackie Horsewood.
Hearty congratulations to both our winners! And to others we say, you too could receive an award if you can demonstrate the commitment to health & safety shown by these, and our past, winners.
Radon
WHS has issued a new generic risk assessment for Radon gas, covering the general risks, affects on health and essential controls. The generic risk assessment will filter through to all our customers over the coming months within your renewal packs; however, should anyone require a copy now, please contact the office and it can be emailed free of charge immediately.
Radon is a naturally occurring gas that can seep from rock strata, potentially causing cancers. Most architects and developers should already know the risks and requirements to prevent ill-health with new-builds. However, how many of us realise that this is a nationwide problem (indeed, a worldwide, problem) that can affect any of us both at work and/or at home with existing properties as well as new-builds?
The likelihood of Radon affecting our lives depends on where we work and live, and what controls are established within the building/s to prevent seepage. The information contained in the WHS risk assessment is invaluable to give you a heads-up on both the risk level in your area and how to proceed if you do find you or your property may be at risk. In addition, go on-line for further information, particularly from Public Health England on: https://www.ukradon.org/
Keeping WHS Informed
May we reiterate once again just how important it is that we are kept informed of all accidents in or related to the workplace as soon as possible. We are still discovering instances of accidents that were either never notified to us or notified weeks or months after the event; where this happens, we cannot help you if the HSE become involved or if there is a claim made by the victim against your company.
We are here to help when there is an accident, including working out what are the possible contributory factors that led to the incident. But we cannot possibly do that if we are not allowed to see the working environment and/or persons involved or witnessing the event immediately (or at least within a short time); we cannot act on hearsay or corrupted evidence, i.e. where work has carried on and effectively over-ridden the facts on the ground.
Even if you are fully aware that health & safety on your workplace was not up to scratch on the day, believe us when we say that it’s best we know ahead of any HSE intervention or claim situation. We cannot assist in any shape of form in retrospect as we could never verify the facts.
N.B.
WHS issues comprehensive information about what to do when there is an accident and how to handle the aftermath. This is contained within your renewal packs.
HSE NEWS
Accident Statistics 2018/19
The HSE has issued a poster which displays, in very clear terms, the costs to both employees and employers of accidents and ill-health in the (UK) workplace during 2018/19. Displaying the poster can help to reinforce the message to employees that health & safety is everybody’s responsibility and any one of us can suffer if it’s ignored.
The cost is only £10, including VAT, and can be purchased on-line from:
https://bit.ly/302EgIn
In addition, the HSE has also issued a freely downloadable summary of the 2018/19, available on:
https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/overall/hssh1819.pdf
This summary is a must-see for all managers. The document breaks down each figure shown in the poster to give the full and shocking overall picture, including almost half a million new cases of work-related ill-health reported during 2018/19 – half a million, and that’s only the tip of the very large iceberg because many cases go unreported for various reasons. And the 1.4 million currently suffering from work-related ill-health resulted, during 2018/19 alone, in 23.5 million working days lost to UK industry – a phenomenal figure that results in both direct and hidden costs and losses to every business in this country.
So, as we have stressed so many times before, the HSE is right to target ill-health, and businesses must ensure they implement safeguards for the health and safety of all their employees, not just because the law says so, but because it makes economic sense.
It’s also disturbing to note that stress now accounts for 44% of all reported ill-health and 54% of working days lost. So again, apart from the legal (and moral) reasons for looking after your employees, it makes total economic sense to ensure their wellbeing is looked after both at work and, where at all possible, for their home life too. Whether type of work your business does, the same applies:
Get to know your employees; take notice of changes to their moods and productivity; show empathy to anxiety, particularly where a shoulder may be needed to help with personal issues; don’t bully and don’t enforce unrealistic workloads and deadlines. We must reduce the destructive stress that is endemic in UK industry.
Welding Fume
Any company involved in or commissioning welding must take note that the HSE is tightening up on its policy towards what they consider as appropriate control measures to avoid the serious consequences on human health of welding fume.
All welding requires good ventilation as well as appropriate respiratory protection (RPE); however, ventilation alone is totally insufficient should welding be unavoidably carried out internally. In such cases, appropriately designed and properly maintained LEV (local exhaust ventilation) systems are required, along with the correct level of good quality and properly maintained RPE. Proactive planning must establish adequate maintenance and replacement regimes, and full records must be kept for both the LEV and RPE.
If welding takes place outside, good and properly maintained RPE alone may be acceptable, ensuring that the work takes place well away from others and wind conditions are accounted for. However, and this should be obvious to everyone, risk assessments are required for all welding work, whether internal or external. WHS issues a generic risk assessment for welding where there is adequate ventilation but, as with all WHS generics, this is only meant as a starting point. All companies are responsible for carrying out task or workplace specific risk assessment to reflect the facts on the ground – how and where the work will actually take place. If you require our assistance, please do contact the WHS office.
Further details of the HSE approach to welding can be found on:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/safetybulletins/mild-steel-welding-fume.htm
And further in-depth information on how to manage welding fume can be found on the HSE’s website:
https://www.hse.gov.uk/welding/index.htm
INDUSTRY NEWS
Another Young Victim of Asbestos
This very recent report from the BBC (7 January 2020) highlights, yet again, that we can all become victims of asbestos-related diseases unless care is taken – even the very young:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-51021204
Having achieved her ‘dream job’ as a bus driver in the West Midlands and, as a result of her passion and hard work, beaten 250 others to be named Bus Driver of the Year for 2018, poor Isobell Gall died on New Year’s Eve…at the age of just 29, having never worked in construction in her short life. What an awful for her family to start the new decade; may we extend our sincere sympathies.
Doctors believe Isobel may have contracted deadly mesothelioma when she was as young as 6. Although the most lethal types of asbestos were banned in the 1980s (when Isobel wouldn’t have even been a distant twinkle in her parents’ eyes) and all types finally banned completely at the turn of the century, her death is an all-too-poignant reminder that asbestos is still all around us in our daily lives, and ignoring the issue costs lives – young and old.
Transport services across the country are campaigning to raise awareness amongst the public through social media: #WeStandWithIsobel. There has always been an inexcusable lack of information presented to the general public about asbestos so they can be excused for not realising the extent of the deadly problem. But, we at WHS are still continually, quite frankly, disgusted at the general disregard for people’s safety demonstrated by a large proportion of UK industry. It is law that all businesses have immediate access to health & safety advice (which is why you have engaged us) but few companies seem to ever ask their advisors, or care, about the issue of asbestos within their premises – which is inexcusable.
So, sadly we need to start the new year – the new decade, a full 20 years after the total asbestos ban – by reminding everyone out there that asbestos is very real and very deadly and nobody, no matter who they are and what their function is, commercial or domestic, can afford to cut corners or ignore the issue. Isobel’s father asked ‘why my Isobel?’ Everyone must take this issue and the potential for exposure extremely seriously, both at work and at home, or you may be asking ‘why my child?’ yourself.
PAT & Insurance Implications
As the HSE and all other responsible health & safety-related organisations will agree, WHS strongly advocates that regular and competent PAT (portable appliance testing) is carried out on all your mobile electrical tools and equipment. The frequency will naturally depend upon the type of equipment, the frequency of use, the nature of use and the working environment; for example, we may advocate 3-month intervals for a heavy-use tool but may say that annual would be sufficient for the same tool in a very infrequent-use situation.
However, there is a misconception that PAT is law; it isn’t. In the same way that permits to work are not law but have become standard and accepted practice, PAT testing is a means to a (legal) end but is not law in itself. This is a very important point as it has come to our attention that some in the insurance industry may be implying it is legally required and that the insured would not be covered where the insurer’s interpretation of frequencies is not followed.
Where an insurance company dictates their terms for electrical safety and lays down in writing their required frequency for PAT testing, that obviously must be followed; it’s always vital that every business reads, understands and observes all restrictions within their insurance documents. However, where there is no such stipulation, you are quite within your rights to establish your own controls, which (and we would always advocate this) would be best to include an appropriate PAT testing regime.
What is legally required, however, is that all electrical equipment must be CE marked and non-defective when purchased, stored and handled appropriately, maintained in good working order and free from defects, checked visually before use each day with records made frequently to that effect, and withdrawn for use and repaired by suitable specialists when defects are found or suspected. Relevant regulations (so there is no excuse for not establishing proper controls) are:
- Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974
- The Electricity at Work Regulations of 1989
- The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations of 1998
- The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations of 1999
Specific information can be found on: https://www.pat.org.uk/is-pat-testing-a-legal-requirement/ To quote from the organisation’s website:
“Claims that PAT testing is required by law and that the client is breaking the law by not having it done are simply not true. The law does require however that employers, including self-employed, ensure that all electrical equipment that they provide in their business is safe and properly maintained. This means that PAT testing is a critical part of your company’s health and safety and should be considered part of a solution to your safety concerns.”
So, to summarise:
- No, PAT is not law, but
- Adequate controls to ensure all equipment is and remains safe for use are required by law and must be established and records established and maintained as proof
- You will find yourself uninsured, not if you have failed to carry out PAT, but if you are in breach of the law by not ensuring your equipment is safe, so
- It makes absolute sense to establish a PAT regime at frequencies that reflect the risks of the workplace.
Again, we are here to help; contact the WHS office for further advice and/or PAT testing itself.
EMPLOYMENT NEWS
National Minimum Wage
From 1 April 2020, the national minimum wage levels per hour for each age range are as follows:
- 25+ – £8.72
- 21 – 24 – £8.20
- 18 – 20 – £6.45
- 16 – 17 – £4.55
- Apprenticeships – £4.15
National ‘living wage’ rates have not yet been set due to the December election.
Written Statement of Terms
From 6 April 2020, all new employees will have to the right to a ‘written statement of particulars’ from the first day of their employment.
Take note all those employers out there that don’t even give their employees proper contracts yet!! Proper and accurate employment contracts are required by law so, even if there is a delay in issuing that contract for whatever reason, from 6 April, employees must be clear about their terms of employment from day one.
Changes to Agency Workers’ Rights
From 6 April 2020, all agency workers will be (a) entitled to key information setting out their employment relationship with the employing agency and the terms & conditions of that employment.
In addition, all agency workers who have been in a company’s employment for 12 weeks or more will be entitled to the same pay as those on permanent contracts. And, all agency workers who are considered ‘employees’ will be protected against unfair dismissal.
Holiday Pay Calculations
From 6 April 2020, the reference period for calculating a week’s pay for holiday purposes will be extended from 12 to 52 weeks i.e. taking an entire year’s circumstances into account rather than a limited period.
Parental Bereavement Leave
From 6 April 2020, parents will have the right to 2 weeks leave if their child under the age of 18 dies or if they suffer a still birth from 24 weeks of pregnancy. This is a new and very welcome piece of legislation, aimed at giving parents time to grieve and reducing their stress.
GENERAL NEWS
Personal Safety
There is a very useful app for your iphone which can play a big part in ensuring your location can be immediately and accurately notified to emergency services. The ‘what3words’ app has allocated 3 specific words to each of every (yes every!) 3m x 3m square of the World so, by quoting those 3 unique words, emergency services can pinpoint your location exactly, even if you have no idea of the address.
The app is available in many different languages and can be used socially as well (find you friends, locate destinations, note where you parked your car, find your tent at Glastonbury!). However, it does tend to drain battery power as it’s operational continuously, for obvious reasons. But, despite this down-side, the app would be very useful for those of us who may go to off-the beaten track sites, as well as densely populated areas where you may have no idea which street you’re in!
Go to the Apple app store or what3words to download.
AND FINALLY
With sincere thanks to the HSE for all photographs
Work at height
- WD Cormack & Sons was fined £8,000 after a driver fell almost 3 metres from a trailer, sustaining severe injuries. The driver had been securing grain bags on the curtain-side trailer; no means of preventing falls from this considerable height had been considered. A reminder: ‘work at height’ relates to any work off the ground, not just confined to construction; the risks of harm are just the same.
- Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd was fined a total of over £298,000 after a worker sustained very serious injuries falling 4.8 metres through an unprotected opening in a water tower at a property owned by Company Director, Richard McAlpine. Another reminder: health & safety controls are required whether the work is carried out at a commercial or domestic site; the risks of harm are just the same.
- Light Power Grp Ltd was fined £80,000 and its director, Michael Webb, given a suspended 12-month sentence, and ordered to carry out 200 hours community work and pay costs of £15,000 after a worker was killed falling 7 metres through a fragile roof. The worker was Webb’s brother.
- M&M Damproof Co. Ltd was fined a total of almost £21,000 after a worker received serious multiple fractures falling 5 metres head first from the corrugated roof of a motor vehicle workshop under repair. Two workers had accessed the pitched roof by ladder and no edge protection had been set up to prevent falls from the roof, or through the fragile sheeting or roof-lights. He was lucky not to have been killed.
- Decorator, Ian Ramsey, was given a 12-month community order and ordered to carry out 160 hours unpaid work and pay costs of over £2,000 after one of his employees was paralysed from the waist down falling from a roof ladder. No edge protection had been set up to prevent falls, nor had adequate access equipment been provided.
Vibration
- Property developer and management company, Places for People Homes Ltd, was fined a total of almost £614,000 after five employees developed HAVS over a period of five years from the vibration emanating whilst using grounds maintenance equipment. The Company had failed to provide health surveillance or training, nor had it maintained and replaced tools to ensure vibration levels were reduced.
N.B.
The massive level of this fine demonstrates that vibration is not considered a minor issue by the HSE or the courts. HAVS and similar conditions are serious, debilitating and life-changing; they must be taken seriously or employees will continue to be harmed … employers will continue to end up in court.
Gas work
- Marc Murrie was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment after claiming to be Gas Safe registered on several occasions and carrying out unsafe gas work during 2016. Yet another case of a fraudulent gas engineer.
N.B.
This case related to domestic properties; however, as we repeatedly stress, any business who does not verify that the appointed gas engineer is Gas Safe registered, may be vulnerable to prosecution. As a business, it is your legal duty to ensure everyone you engage is competent. Go to: https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/find-an-engineer/ to make sure before you appoint the engineer
WHS is working for you; help us to help you.
Our aim is to keep people safe and to keep your company working.
To contact WHS, ring: 01952-885885