Construction safety in the spotlight
Health and safety in the construction industry has recently come under the spotlight after a nationwide campaign by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found an alarming number of sites were failing to meet basic safety standards. Many sites visited by the HSE The campaign involved HSE inspectors visiting 2,607 sites across the UK where refurbishment or repair work […]
Too many small businesses are without insurance
New research by LV= Broker has found that one in 20 small business owners have no insurance cover in place – equivalent to 230,000 businesses across the UK – leaving them vulnerable to liability claims, hefty fines and prosecution. By law, all businesses employing staff must have employers’ liability (EL) insurance as a minimum otherwise […]
Blueprint sets out waste industry’s safety drive
A five-prong plan for driving down the number of people killed and seriously injured in the waste and recycling industry has been published. The Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) Forum has been working on its blueprint for better risk management since a landmark summit in February, and the final plan puts the focus on those areas […]
Chemical firm fined after fireball engulfs employee
A chemical firm has been fined £120,000 after an employee sustained severe burns when he was engulfed by a fireball at a factory in Wirral. The 45-year-old was kept in an induced coma for seven weeks following a chemical explosion at the plant on 28th February last year. The company was prosecuted by the Health and Safety […]
Safety clampdown on construction sites
Unsafe practices on construction sites are to be targeted as part of a national initiative aimed at reducing death, injury and ill-health. During a month-long drive to improve standards in one of Britain’s most dangerous industries, the Health and Safety Executive will visit sites where refurbishment or repair works are taking place. Inspectors will ensure that construction sites are […]
TUC publishes safety manifesto
Regular safety inspections, a maximum temperature in the workplace and far greater control of carcinogens are just some of the improvements that the TUC is calling for in its new ten point safety manifesto. The report, Time for change, features ten key recommendations which the TUC believes, if implemented by a future government, could help […]
Grandfather receives damages for ‘ha-ha’ fall
A man has been awarded compensation of £8,750 after he injured his ankle in the ditch of a ha-ha in the grounds of Hopetoun House, near Edinburgh, reports the Scotsman. The man, who was 61 at the time of the accident, was attending a guided bat walk in the grounds with his grandson. The injury occurred as the […]
Councils pay out millions in compensation
According to figures obtained by the Scottish Conservatives under Freedom of Information legislation, councils in Scotland have paid out over £33 million to settle around 13,000 compensation claims over the past five years. The data reveals a wide range of claims, including a man in Edinburgh who claimed £170,000 after a firework blew up in his hand; […]
Thousands of casualties caused by poor driver vision
A recent report commissioned by insurer RSA has found that road crashes caused by poor driver vision result in an estimated 2,900 casualties and cost £33 million per year. Brake and RSA are calling for the numberplate test to be replaced with a requirement for drivers to have a proper vision test with a qualified […]
HSE publishes data on workplace injury in Scotland
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has recently published provisional statistics on workplace ill-health and injury in Scotland in 2011/12. The figures show that: The HSE has also revealed that in 2009, the most recent year for which statistics are available across the EU, the standardised rate of work-related fatal injury excluding traffic accidents was […]
