CONTENTS
- Training
- HSE news
- General news
- Recent prosecutions
TRAINING
(The boring but essential bit! Refer to later articles)
FIRST AID
1-day Emergency First-Aid at Work course dates are listed below; specific requirements and controls will be advised within the joining instructions.
Dates:
31 March 2025 (Monday)
4 April 2025 (Friday) NEW DATE
10 April 2025 (Thursday) NEW DATE Fully booked but a waiting list is operating
28 April 2025 (Monday)
19 May 2025 (Monday)
25 June 2025 (Wednesday)
21 July 2025 (Monday)
20 August 2025 (Wednesday)
29 September 2025 (Monday)
Cost: £85 + VAT per person
MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID
1-day FAA Award in First Aid for Mental Health (Level 2 RQF)
Dates: 16 May 2025 (Friday)
Cost: £85 + VAT per person
IOSH MANAGING SAFELY
3-day IOSH Managing Safely course
Dates: 15, 16 & 17 September 2025 (Monday – Wednesday)
Cost: £450 + VAT per person
ONLINE COURSES
Don’t forget we also have a range of online courses available for a wide variety of subjects from COSHH Awareness and Legionella Awareness to Equality and Diversity and Stress in the Workplace.
Take a look at the full range here – Buy online courses – Wenlock Health & Safety Ltd All online courses are around 30 minutes long, only cost £25 + VAT per course, and can be undertaken whenever you want.
These online courses are ideal for refresher training to keep up to date and supplement other courses, perfect for those people who may not physically do certain roles but need to know the subject and great for the smaller subjects like Office Safety which can be completed easily by all office-based staff.
All you need to do is pop any number of required courses in the basket and go through the checkout (without clicking off until it’s fully completed!), then you’ll see full instructions on how to create each staff member’s user area and how to allocate the relevant courses to them. You’ll be able to see progress on each person to check when courses are completed and you’ll also have full access to all certificates gained.
Call WHS or drop Becki a line on becki.shenton@wenlockhs.co.uk if you’re stuck or want further information.
HSE NEWS
HSE HEAVILY TARGETTING ASBESTOS MANAGEMENT
As we have highlighted so many times before in these newsletters, there is still an incredible lack of awareness surrounding the presence and risks associated with asbestos. The British Safety Council (BSC) describes this as ‘alarming’ and we have to agree. In a survey the BSC conducted late last year amongst tradespeople, 49% thought this was a problem from the past; 50% felt that it had become less of a concern over the years they had been in their trades and, of those, 26% admitted to not following the correct procedures to remove it.
However, and as usual, this only reflects the (appalling) situation within a limited section of the construction industry; but they are not the only ones who have generally failed to undertake their legal duties. As everyone reading this newsletter should know (contact WHS immediately if you don’t!), the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (and all previous versions) attribute responsibility to every party involved in the ownership, management and upkeep of all commercial and public-interfacing buildings in the country, including offices, shops, churches, local village halls, outward-bound premises, etc, etc, etc.
WHS has now seen a lot of evidence that the HSE really are heavily focusing an increased number of inspections on asbestos management right across the board, including all types of business premises and local authorities. They are being extremely thorough and requiring evidence of a proper asbestos management system (AMS) for each premises – and do bear in mind that this, in law, includes structures built after 2000 (relevant information is in your health & safety pack but, if you’re still not sure why this is the case, contact WHS immediately!)
Check right now whether you do actually have a proper AMS in place, before it’s too late. Do you have evidence of (as a minimum):
- Competent and recent asbestos surveys for every part of the building/s; an absolute minimum of ‘management level’ surveys and higher levels where work has been or is required?
- Systems to ensure any areas not yet surveyed are strictly controlled and will be properly surveyed before being disturbed?
- Regular competent inspections of any asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) highlighted or suspected within those surveys?
- Records of where asbestos removal has been carried out, who undertook the work and their qualifications, and the waste trail?
- Appropriate regular training for individuals in charge of the AMS, and proof of appropriate information dissemination to both staff and any contractors or individuals who need to be warned of where to avoid and where it is safe to work?
- Is it all presented in a coherent fashion, held readily available for those who need the information (internal or externally-engaged) and is there strict recording of who has read the AMS and their responsibility to abide by any written or implied restrictions?
- And, where the building was constructed post-2000, all-encompassing evidence that this was indeed the case; the legal requirement for every commercial building (including tenanted properties) to have an up-to-date and properly managed AMS includes ALL buildings, even if built post-2000?
You can find out more about the HSE’s campaign on the HSE’s website, including reference to the BSC research, the legal duties ‘to manage’ incumbent on all parties, templates* for an AMS, and various resources and videos to assist.
* WHS has been issuing perfectly adequate and thorough templates for years when clients have requested assistance; please do contact WHS immediately if you would like copies and/or require assistance.
We say again, the HSE is now being extremely thorough with this latest campaign so, whether you’re a company working out of owned or tenanted properties, a charity, a church or any other ‘commercial’ business (i.e. non-domestic), you need to make sure you have properly undertaken your legal duties to manage asbestos, start to finish, before you’re targeted.
Postscript: It was pleasing to see that the issue of asbestos was finally raised in Parliament during March; the MP for South Shields, Emma Lewell-Buck, described how her grandfather had died from exposure to asbestos and requested that a register be established of all remaining deposits within the UK and a commitment to the phased removal. The response from the PM was fairly vague, but we applaud Mrs Lewell-Buck for asking that Parliament finally takes this issue seriously.
LONE WORKING
We discussed the issue of lone working in the December 2024 issue of our newsletter, and highlighted the fact the issue is not widely recognised but is common across many industries – the mere fact that an employee might travel by him or herself from the office to meet a new client or to a vacant property, very often entails ‘lone working’ and any such scenarios must be properly assessed (including a personal risk assessment where employees have known health or vulnerability conditions) and suitable controls established. Remember Suzy Lamplugh (Disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh – Wikipedia).
As always, the HSE has a wealth of information and guidance on its website – including document indg73 ‘Protecting lone workers; how to manage the risks of working alone’, free to download from:
Protecting lone workers
Don’t forget also that WHS can provide tailor-made training for your lone workers and management to ensure that relevant scenarios are properly recognised, assessed and controls. Don’t overlook this issue; train management and employees to recognise and control the particular risks they might face.
AGENCY or TEMPORARY WORKERS
Another vulnerable group of workers is, according to research, agency or temporary workers. The use of this type of labour has become increasingly prevalent over recent decades but these workers are often given little or no induction, training or supervision and, therefore, can suffer a disproportionate number of accidents (or worse).
ALL employees engaged, in whatever form, are the responsibility of the employing business, and agency or temporary workers are no exception. ALL of them are entitled to an appropriate level of induction, training and supervision to ensure their safety. To assist businesses in the management of this type of workforce, the HSE provides valuable advice and guidance on:
Your health and safety as a gig economy, agency or temporary worker – HSE
GENERAL NEWS
IMPORTANT – FOAM EXTINGUISHERS TO BE PHASED OUT
Do note that Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) fire extinguishers are completely banned as of July 2025. They have been phased out since 2020 but, as from 4 July 2025, their use is no longer allowed and they must be disposed of via a properly accredited company.
AFFF foam extinguishers have been standard issue for fighting Class A (flammable solids) and Class B (flammable liquids) fires for decades. However, they contain ‘forever chemicals’ which do not break down easily, can quickly dissolve in water and are, therefore, persistently harmful to the environment. A build-up of these chemicals can also cause serious health issues to humans and animals.
Alternative extinguishers are as follows:
For Class A Fires (fires that involves common combustible materials like wood, paper, cloth, and some plastics):
- Water Extinguishers: effective for most common fires involving solid combustibles
- Water Mist Extinguishers: versatile and environmentally friendly, suitable for Class A, B, C fires, and fires involving electrical equipment
- Wet Chemical Extinguishers: ideal for fires involving cooking oils and fats
- Dry Powder Extinguishers: suitable for a variety of fire types, although indoor use requires a specific health and safety assessment
For Class B Fires (fires that involves flammable liquids or gases, such as fuels, alcohol and solvent-based substances, flammable gases and lithium-ion batteries):
- Fluorine-Free Firefighting Foam (F3): an environmentally friendly alternative that forms a protective layer over flammable liquids and suppressing the fire
- Dry Chemical Agents: they include agents that interrupt the chemical reaction of the fire and smother the flames
- Water Mist Extinguishers: suitable for multiple fire types, including those involving flammable liquids and electrical equipment, offering a non-toxic and easy-to-clean solution
EMPLOYEE HARASSMENT
In the December 2024 issue of this newsletter, we drew attention to the implied requirement under the Equality Act 2010 for every business to take reasonable steps to prevent harassment of all types in the workplace (i.e. a ‘preventative duty’). The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) monitors human rights, protecting equality across age, disability, sex, race, religion and belief, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership, sexual orientation and gender reassignment, and it recommends that each business should include a section on workplace harassment in its HR Policy. WHS can assist with this via our external HR specialist, Kay Heald; please do contact WHS for assistance if you need it.
However, it is worth pointing out here that harassment may well become a safety issue in certain circumstances, e.g. when an employee has to work within rough or antisocial neighbourhoods, or is sent to countries with prejudiced attitudes. In such circumstances, a full safety risk assessment must be carried out and appropriate mitigation measures and controls established. Also, in such cases, reference to how the employer intends to manage the issues must be covered in the Health & Safety Policy.
These two issues are completely separate and must be treated as such. Harassment within the workplace must be covered by HR and enforced; the potential for harassment when working eternally must be covered by safety risk assessment and properly managed.
RECENT PROSECUTIONS
- Bespoke Stone Ltd was fined £6,600 plus costs of £4,875 after two workers were struck by falling stone slabs and sustained multiple serious bone injuries; they had been preparing to lift one of three slabs onto a saw bench when all three fell on them. The handling and storage systems were found to be inadequate and did not act to restrain the materials. The incident (and the failure to protect the workers) can be clearly seen on the video released by the HSE: Manufacturing firm fined after workers struck by stone slabs – HSE Media Centre
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