Every job comes with a degree of risk however in certain occupations working with hazardous materials or in dangerous conditions is much more common. In November 2017, we looked at the latest statistics from the Health and Safety Executive. It showed that there were over 70,000 injuries reported by employers… Read More »

In 1993 there were around 3 million migrant workers in the UK, by 2015 that number had reached 7 million. Migrant workers play a major role in our economy – some estimates put their contribution at £328m per day – however for those workers who have poor or no English… Read More »

How many people take an actual break at work? We don’t mean looking up from your computer for 30 seconds while you discuss the football or what you were watching on TV last night. We mean getting away from your desk or where you work and completely switching off from… Read More »

Health and safety enforcement is on the rise after a number of years of falling statistics. The number of notices issued in 2016/17 was 11,913 however the number of prosecutions fell to 554. Not every health and safety breach is prosecuted and it is only the most serious of offences… Read More »

It’s no secret that working in the construction industry is a riskier occupation that most jobs. The nature of the work means that you are more exposed to more potentially dangerous situations than many other occupations. There were 30 fatal injuries in the UK within the construction sector in 2016-17… Read More »

When an inspector from the Health and Safety Executive or your local authority visits your business premises, what are they actually looking for? We all know that their job is to ensure that you remain compliant with the law and that your business provides a safe working environment for everyone… Read More »

Happy New Year to all our readers, delegates and customers! We hope that the festive period was good for you and to combat the dreaded ‘January blues’ we have some good news. We are pleased to tell you that 2018 will be a period of expansion for us and we… Read More »

These days pretty much everyone knows that asbestos is incredibly harmful. Even though learning of the dangers of asbestos is relatively new – ‘asbestos shovelling competitions’ used to take place in 1960’s – there has been a general acceptance for years that coming into contact with asbestos is a bad… Read More »

We’re living longer. In 2014 the average age of the UK population exceeded 40 for the first time. Not only is our life expectancy increasing but with rises in the qualifying age for the state pension and the removal of the mandatory retirement age in 2011, we are working longer… Read More »

The risk of an accident happening at work is much higher within the first 6 months of a new employee starting their job. In fact, the reportable injury statistics show that there were 3,316 injuries reported for employees within the first 6 months of them commencing employment compared to just… Read More »

Do you need to approach health and safety differently during winter? We look at 3 things you should take into consideration.  The clocks have been wound back an hour, the temperature is falling and it’s dark at 4pm – winter has arrived and it is that time of the year… Read More »

How important is it to wear a hard hat on a construction site? In the construction industry in the UK, 3% of workers sustain a work-related injury and 11% of these injuries are from being struck by an object. In fact, another 66,000 injuries are estimated to go unreported every… Read More »

Did you know that nearly 13% of all sickness days taken in the UK are a result of a mental health problem? 1 in 6.8 people will experience a mental health issue as a result of work. While poor mental health isn’t necessary a ‘taboo’ subject these days and much… Read More »

The Health and Safety Executive (or HSE) is the organisation that oversees health, safety and welfare in the workplace across Great Britain. Northern Ireland has its own body that looks after workplace safety. While the HSE name is well-known, not everyone is clear on its specific role. In this week’s… Read More »

Learning a new skill, taking a course or undergoing training to further your career doesn’t mean sitting in a classroom anymore. In fact, e-learning is incredibly popular and has been growing dramatically in recent years. A study in 2015 showed that 23% of students wouldn’t undertake a degree if there… Read More »

Employers are now being fined more than ever if they fall foul of health and safety legislation. From January 2016 to January 2017 £76.7m worth of fines were dished out to employers that failed to keep their workers safe. This is over double the amount from the year before. A… Read More »

Many jobs require manual handling to a certain extent. This can be consistently throughout the day or even just now and again however regardless of how often it is required risk assessments need to be made to ensure safety. Over a million individuals in the UK suffer from a musculoskeletal… Read More »

The right to work in a safe environment is enshrined in health and safety law in the UK however there is often some confusion about who is responsible for health and safety in the workplace. The UK generally has a safer working culture than the rest of the EU but… Read More »

With all the talk focused on Brexit and how it is going to affect us in the UK, new data has been released that shows that Britain generally has a more positive outlook on health and safety than the rest of the EU. Brexit is unlikely to change a great… Read More »

Many people in the UK are deemed as ‘lone workers’. If you regularly work by yourself without direct supervision, then you fall under this category. In fact, many people don’t even realise they are lone workers because while they might physically work with other people, they don’t work with their… Read More »