Category: Uncategorised

Access to workplace facilities for drivers

All drivers must have access to welfare facilities in the premises they visit as part of their day to day work activities.

There have been several reports that some drivers are not being allowed to use welfare facilities when they arrive on site.  

Forbidding access is against the law.  With the latest advice for hands to be washed regularly, failure to allow access to welfare facilities may increase the risk of COVID-19 spreading.  

Companies who already provide reasonable access to toilets and handwashing facilities should continue to do so.  

Advice on homeworking for employers.

Do you have people working from home temporarily as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak?

As an employer, you have the same health and safety responsibilities for home workers as for any other workers.

The HSE has a wealth of advice on how you can work to reduce the risks to your employee’s health and well-being. 

Latest COVID-19 Information & Guidance

In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, there are a range of Coronavirus (COVID-19) public information materials available for you and your employees.

Keep up to date with COVID-19 developments and the latest news.

Sign up to the latest Government updates here

COVID-19 latest information and advice.

Are you and your employees looking for information on the latest UK Government measures around Coronavirus?

If you employ people, the GOV.UK guidance for employers and business provides up-to-date information on how you and your workers can prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Government website also provides up-to-date information about the situation in the UK and guidance for the public on the risk from Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Getting your workplace ready for COVID-19

Keep the workplace clean and hygienic

Promote regular and thorough hand-washing;

Promote good respiratory hygiene; cover your nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing;

Check Health Authorities’ travel advice before and after going on business;

Ensure those who are sick stay home.

Slips, Trips & Falls

According to the Health and Safety Executive, slips, trips and falls are the single most common cause of major incidents in UK workplaces, accounting for 29% of all reported specified (major) injuries in 2018/19. 

Legal Duties 

The key areas of health and safety law relevant to slips, trips and falls are: 

• The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA). 

• The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. 

• The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. 

• The Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977. 

• Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. 

The key risk factors are: 

• Poor lighting that prevents people seeing obstructions, slippery surfaces etc. 

• Damaged or incorrect flooring. 

• Obstructions and objects left lying around. 

• Inappropriate footwear. 

Employer recommendations: 

• Assess the risks to workers, decide how significant the risks are, prevent or control the risks and develop a clear management plan. 

• Consult with the workforce and their representatives about risk assessments and actions. 

• Ensure everyone is aware of the risk assessments and procedures in place. 

Control methods or risk reduction techniques must be used to: 

• Ensure conditions are correct from the start. Ensure flooring and lighting are fit for purpose and have the appropriate surface roughness characteristics. 

• Provide staff with information and training on good working practice. 

• Adopt a programme of planned preventative maintenance and undertake repairs when identified. 

• Where floors may become wet or contaminated, ensure they are regularly inspected and dried immediately. 

• Ensure spillages are promptly cleaned up. 

• Ensure appropriate signage is displayed when areas are being cleaned and removed when the floor can be used normally. 

• Ensure all accidents are investigated and staff made aware of the findings and actions taken. 

Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Policy/Advice for Employees

Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is a new respiratory illness that has not previously been seen in humans. The risk of getting the illness in the UK is currently low.

Advice to travellers returning from China
Travellers returning from Wuhan and Hubei Province
If you have returned from Wuhan or Hubei Province in the last 14 days:

  • Stay indoors and avoid contact with other people
  • Call NHS 111 to tell them of your recent travel to the city

Employees should follow this advice even if they do not have symptoms of the virus.
If you get a cough, a high temperature, or you feel short of breath, continue to follow this advice. Do not leave your house without getting advice from a doctor.

Travellers returning from other parts of China
If you’ve returned from other areas of China (but not Hong Kong or Macao) in the last 14 days, and get a cough or fever, or you feel short of breath:

  • Stay indoors and avoid contact with other people
  • Call NHS 111 to tell them of your recent travel to China

Employees should follow this advice even if their symptoms are mild.

What this means in practice
This means staying at home for 14 days after arriving from Wuhan or Hubei Province (or other parts of China if you have symptoms) and not going to work or public areas. Try to avoid having visitors to your home, but it’s OK for friends, family or delivery drivers to drop off food. While the risk to the UK population remains low, these steps are recommended to limit the potential spread of infection.

Transport
Do not use public transport or taxis until 14 days after your return from Wuhan or Hubei Province (or other parts of China if you have symptoms).

Getting food and medicine
Stay at home for 14 days after arriving from Wuhan or Hubei Province (or other parts of China if you have symptoms) and avoid public places. Ask a friend, family member or delivery services to carry out errands on your behalf.

Taking children to school
Stay at home for 14 days after arriving from Wuhan or Hubei Province (or other parts of China if you have symptoms) and avoid public places. Ask a friend or family member to take your children to school. If your children are well and have not been in Wuhan or Hubei Province, there is no need for them to stay off school.
 
What is the risk of catching coronavirus in the UK?
The UK Chief Medical Officers have raised the risk to the public from low to moderate. But the risk to individuals remains low.

Health professionals are working to contact anyone who has been in close contact with people who have coronavirus.

Symptoms of coronavirus
Symptoms usually include:

  • A cough
  • A high temperature
  • Difficulty breathing

How is coronavirus spread between people?
Because it’s a new illness, we do not know exactly how coronavirus spreads from person to person, but similar viruses spread by cough droplets.

Advice includes:

  • Ensuring everyone washes their hands regularly with soap and water
  • Cleaning surfaces regularly
  • Always carry tissues
  • Using tissues to cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze
  • Binning the tissues as soon as possible

Treatment for coronavirus
There is no specific treatment for coronavirus. Treatment aims to relieve the symptoms.

Further information
GOV.UK has further information on coronavirus and the situation in the UK, and advice on travel to China.

Printing company sentenced after employee suffers finger amputations

Harrier LLC, a photo processing, printing and gift manufacturing business based in Newton Abbot has been sentenced after a worker suffered serious injuries when his hand was caught in machinery.

Exeter Magistrates’ Court heard that on 19 January 2017, 44-year-old agency worker Neil Williams was working on a corner rounding machine at a site in Newton Abbot. The machine is hand operated with top and bottom blades and can also be activated by a foot pedal. While adjusting the settings of the cutter, Mr Williams put his fingers between the blades to ensure a flush fit. While he tightened them in place, his foot slipped and hit the foot pedal even though it was of a protected or “shrouded” design. The blade came down and severed his ring finger, middle finger and most of his index finger.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Mr Williams was not suitably trained and the safe system of work for the corner cutter failed to set out a safe way to change the template size.

Harrier LLC of Brunel Road, Newton Abbot pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The company has been fined £98,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,756.50 plus a victim surcharge of £170.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Melissa Lai-Hung said: “The company fell significantly below the expected standard. Mr Williams’ injuries have been life changing. This incident was foreseeable and preventable.

Steel fabrication company fined after steel cages fall onto employee

A steel fabrication company has been fined after steel cages fell onto a worker’s leg, resulting in multiple fractures.

Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard that, in November 2017, an employee of Lemon Groundwork Solutions Limited was using a gantry crane to lift a steel cage from a stack of cages at the company site in Wickford, Essex. These steel cages were free-standing on the floor, each weighing 1188kg, and were stacked between 2-4 cages high in an unstable pyramid formation, without chocks to support the load. When the employee used the gantry crane to lift the top cage from the stack, two cages at the bottom rolled onto his left foot and leg, fracturing his tibia and fibula bones. As a result, the worker had to undergo reconstructive surgery where metal rods, plates and pins were inserted into his leg.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that prior to the incident, Lemon Groundwork Solutions Limited had failed to implement a safe system of work for storing cages and had not provided their employees with sufficient information, instruction, training and supervision to store and handle cages safely. The company had additionally failed to determine the maximum height that the cages could be stacked and suitable means to secure the cages to prevent movement and collapse. The task of stacking cages was also not adequately risk assessed.

Lemon Groundwork Solutions Limited of Russell Gardens, Wickford, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £130,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5589.99.

Lemon Groundwork Solutions Limited had previously been served Improvement Notices by HSE regarding the safety of its lifting operations and the management of vehicles and pedestrians in its yard. In November 2018, the company was fined £100,000 for a breach of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, following an incident in 2016 in which an employee was struck by a bundle of steel rebar that fell off a forklift, causing multiple fractures to his leg.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Eleanor Kinman said: “This incident could easily have been prevented if the company had adopted safe control measures for storing and handling cages, and adequately supervised the task.”