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.
Steel company fined after driver fatally injured while loading flatbed trailer
A company has been fined after a worker was fatally injured by steelwork, which fell from a telehandler forklift truck during loading.Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard how on 4 April 2019, an employee of South East Galvanizers Limited had visited PCR Steel Ltd at their premises in Star Industrial Estate, Essex to collect a load.
Read MoreCoronavirus: Concerns over bosses breaking Covid safety rules
Concerns have been raised about employees forced to go into workplaces that are not Covid-compliant during lockdown. Between 6 and 14 January, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) received 2,945 complaints about safety issues.
Read MoreRICS announces new cladding guidance on fire risk assessments for high-rise blocks
The professional institute for surveyors has proposed new guidance designed to vastly reduce the scope of buildings subject to EWS1 fire safety assessments for cladding. The safety assessments, introduced by the RICS in 2019 in a bid to provide reassurance to lenders and insurers of high-rise blocks, have contributed to a major blockage in the housing market after a government rule change meant insurers and lenders started requiring them on flat blocks regardless of height.
Read MoreHSE warns of electrical safety dangers in farms when reacting to manslaughter case in Warwickshire
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned against the severe dangers of inadequate electrical safety systems in farm buildings following a recently concluded prosecution at Warwick Crown Court. Britain’s workplace regulator has highlighted the substantial risks arising from using poorly maintained equipment after a woman was killed while cooking food in a farm caravan.
Read MoreSawmill firm sentenced after serious hand injury
A company has been sentenced after a worker was seriously injured when his hand came into contact with a rotating bandsaw blade. Blackpool Magistrates’ court heard how on 18 April 2019, the employee was working on a multi-head bandsaw machine at P Irving & Sons Ltd sawmill in Carnforth, when the pipes supplying cooling fluid to one of the six band-saw blades became blocked.
Read More71% of workers in the UK do not feel completely safe in their buildings, according to study
Honeywell survey also reveals that 65% of UK workers have not received any safety training from management. Software and technologies firm, Honeywell, has released the results of a comprehensive study on workers’ perceptions and feelings on the health and safety of their workplace. The study, carried out by Wakefield Research, polled 500 workers that typically work in buildings with 500 or more employees across the United Kingdom and was part of a global study of 2,000 workers across four markets.
Read MoreBrexit: an update on key changes
Following the end of the transition period, the UK has formally left the EU. We look at the rules and procedures that may affect the health and safety sector. The EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 transferred EU-derived laws into UK law, meaning workers continue to have the same workplace protections. Employees settled in the UK for more than five years can apply for ‘settled status’ which will grant them the same rights as British citizens – but they must apply by 30 June 2021. If they continue to work in the UK after this date without having made the application they will be doing so illegally.
Read MoreHS2 introduces new health and safety passport system
The new system will share vital health and safety information across contractors and help to ensure consistency of standards and performance. HS2 Ltd and its contractors have taken a major step in improving health and safety assurance across sites between London and the West Midlands by introducing a new health and safety passport system.
Read MoreTesco fined £500,000 after boy, 10, suffers electric shock
Retail giant Tesco has been ordered to pay more than £536,000 after a 10-year-old child received an electric shock at its Warfield store in Bracknell. On 9 July 2017, the parents of two children entered the store just before it closed. One parent went with the 10-year-old boy to the freezer section to get ice lollies. As he reached for the product, he started screaming and crying.
Read MoreNetwork Rail fined £135k following electrocution
Network Rail has been fined for a safety breach after a 13-year-old boy was left with serious injuries following an electric shock. Following an Office of Rail and Road (ORR) investigation, Scotland’s Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has prosecuted Network Rail, who were fined £135,000 by Edinburgh Sheriff Court, for failing to maintain and improve the railway fencing near Musselburgh, East Lothian which left a 13-year-old boy with serious injuries.
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