Health and Safety News
We scour the Internet for Health and Safety related news items on an almost daily basis.
The news articles and clippings, curated by MD Safety, highlight the requirements for compliance with UK Health and Safety Legislation and best practice across all industry sectors.
The majority of the information and cases will apply to a greater or lesser degree to our broad range of Clients and lessons to be learned will be able to be gained.
Employers have a ‘legal duty’ to consult employees on matters affecting their health and safety at work
All UK employers have a legal duty to consult their employees (and/or employee representatives) on matters affecting employees’ health and safety at work. This means providing information about the health and safety hazards they may face, and taking account of their concerns and ideas before making any decisions about the best ways of protecting them.
Read MoreWhat is a health and safety policy?
A health and safety policy is a document outlining an organisations commitment and approach to managing health and safety in the workplace. The policy is ultimately signed off by the person at the head of the organisation. *MD Safety can help draft a comprehensive, bespoke Policy for your organisation
Read MoreCar company fined after employee crushed at work
A car manufacturing company has been fined after an employee became trapped and suffered crush injuries whilst unloading a chassis from a delivery vehicle. Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court heard that the employee became trapped between the trolley holding the chassis and a parked vehicle when the delivery vehicle moved.
Read MoreHSE Guidance Update - Controlling noise at work
HSE has published a new edition of the guidance book Controlling noise at work. Many people are exposed to noise levels at work that may be harmful, leading to permanent and incurable hearing damage. The third edition of L108 is aimed at employers and other dutyholders and includes the Control of Noise at Work Regulations alongside guidance on what they mean, setting out an employer’s legal obligations to control risks to workers’ health and safety from noise.
Read MoreLone workers are causing issues for businesses
More than two-thirds of organizations have suffered an incident involving a lone worker in the past three years, a new report from software firm StaySafe claims. Based on a poll of 1,300 lone workers and health and safety executives, the report states that a fifth of these incidents were “severe”. Most of the time (59 percent), stress, mental health issues and tiredness are the cause of an incident. Other incidents are attributed to external factors, such as ill health and aggression.
Read More£160k fine for scaffolding company after crane operator electrocuted
A company has been fined after a worker was fatally electrocuted whilst operating a lorry mounted crane. ASL Access Scaffold Limited employee Martin Tilby was fatally electrocuted when the crane he was operating struck an overhead powerline whilst he was unloading materials in a field at Cowbridge, South Glamorgan, Cardiff Crown Court. The incident happened on 17 May 2016.
Read MoreBoat builder fined after labourer suffers injuries
A yacht manufacturer has been sentenced after an employee was injured when his forklift truck overturned. Plymouth Magistrates’ Court heard how on 3 August 2018, a 57-year-old employee of Princess Yachts Limited was injured whilst assisting the unloading of a delivery at the company’s Langage site. The victim was using a forklift truck in tandem with another driver to lift a large load from a flatbed lorry. Part of the load was lifted to allow the lorry to move forward, but in doing so another part of the load struck the mast of his forklift causing it to overturn.
Read MoreHoliday Inn fined after wedding staircase collapse
The owners and operators of the Holiday Inn Hotel in Hemel Hempstead have been ordered to pay almost £160,000 after the wooden staircase that a wedding party was standing on for a group photograph collapsed beneath them. The incident occurred in 2017 during a wedding that was being held at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Breakspear Way, Hemel Hempstead, in south east England. Guests of the couple were told to assemble on exterior wooden stairs for photographs when the upper flight of stairs collapsed. Ten people and part of the stairs fell onto the hard courtyard below. Seven people required hospital treatment, with two suffering long-term injuries.
Read MoreEmployee seeks damages after fall from height
A labourer working at mezzanine level suffered skull fractures and a brain injury because of the negligence of his employers. The labourer was working on a project on the mezzanine of a factory premises when he was injured. There were three defendants: the builder who planned the work (first defendant); the labourer’s employer, who was subcontracted to work on the project (second); and the company that hired the builder (third).
Read MoreSerious fire safety law breaches at London flat lead to £20k fine and prison sentence
The London Fire Brigade has prosecuted a West London building owner after major breaches of fire safety law were discovered following a significant blaze on 9 August 2018. Three years ago, firefighters were called to a fire at a flat above a shop on Queensway in Bayswater, West London. It took 70 firefighters and 10 fire engines to control the blaze that destroyed half of the four-storey building. Two women were rescued from the building and treated for smoke inhalation at the scene.
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