Health & Safety News

fair redundancy alternative roles

Fair redundancy dismissal requires genuine consideration of alternative roles

Mr Kennedy, a car sales training manager had 30 years’ experience in the motor industry and had worked for Hendy Group Ltd since 2013. During the 2020 COVID pandemic, a redundancy situation arose within the training team. Mr Kennedy accepted both the redundancy situation and his selection was fair, but his concern was with how the redundancy process was conducted. Mr Kennedy claimed that he was unfairly dismissed as his employer failed to properly consider alternative employment within the company. The steps

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8th July 2025

ING 19060 81769

New fire safety legislation – what you need to know!

We have seen a substantial overhaul of UK fire safety over the last two years with a myriad of changes designed to tighten up and improve fire safety legislation. The latest update came into force on 1 October 2023, and implemented phase 3 of the Home Office’s fire safety reform programme. This requires enhanced collaboration and coordination between responsible persons (RPs) and, imposes stricter requirements on recording and sharing of fire safety information. It also simplifies the process for enforcement

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30th October 2023

Managing Safely

Why ‘Managing Safely’ is important

It is a legal requirement for employers to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of their employees. It is also good business practice. Failure to manage health and safety in the workplace can have serious consequences for both employers and employees including accidents and incidents causing serious injury and even death, leading to sanctions such as heavy fines, imprisonment, and reputational damage to the business. There are 3 fundamental reasons why it is essential for employers to implement appropriate measures

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13th September 2023

work accident

Latest fatality figures published by HSE

According to recent data published by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), 135 workers were killed in work-related incidents in Great Britain in the last year. The data covers the period from April 2022 to March 2023 and highlights an increase on last year’s figures, with the construction sector reporting most deaths. Other industries reporting high numbers of worker deaths include agriculture, forestry and fishing, manufacturing, and transportation and storage. Agriculture and forestry and fishing had the highest rate of

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17th August 2023

Protecting outdoor workers from UV radiation exposure

With the summer months upon us, it is important for employers not to underestimate the seriousness of harmful UV rays, and communicate the importance of applying sun protection to any outdoor workers. Employees who work outdoors have a higher-than-average risk of developing skin cancer. However, a recent YouGov survey commissioned by SC Johnson Professional in April, found that 1 in 3 of participants never apply UV protection cream whilst working outdoors. Reasons cited for this include; they didn’t think it

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29th June 2023

LPG forklift truck fire risk

HSE warns of fire risk with LPG forklift trucks

The HSE has issued a safety notice following a number of fires associated with LPG powered forklift trucks and other similar vehicles during starting. This notice is applicable to anyone responsible for operating, supplying, inspecting or maintaining LPG powered forklift trucks. The issue of concern is the build-up of deposits in fuel systems, in particular, the vaporiser units of LPG powered vehicles, which has led to a number of fires. The build-up can cause valves to stick which can in

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8th June 2023

Coalition leading campaign to save health and safety laws from Brexit revocation

A coalition has been created within the occupational safety and health sector during recent months, to provide a unified front to warn the government it might not be a good idea to remove every European-related law. The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill is currently in parliament and proposes that all retained EU laws should be repealed by 31 December 2023 unless there is parliamentary time to convert them into national law. The Bill includes the requirement to review,

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27th April 2023

Company fined almost £500k following lorry driver’s fatal fall from height

On 23 April 2018, Christopher Barnes, a lorry driver for haulage company Devereux Developments Ltd, was delivering doors to a site in Gloucestershire when he fell approximately 2.3 meters from the trailer of his vehicle while unstrapping the load. Upon arrival at the site, Mr Barnes opened the curtain doors to his trailer and released the load-securing straps. However, some of the straps were tangled and Christopher’s attempts to free them from ground level were unsuccessful. In an effort to

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9th March 2023

Ventilation testing company fined for putting hundreds of employees at risk of serious health

St Helen’s based company Airtec Filtration Ltd, provide testing for extract ventilation systems which reduces exposures to airborne contaminants in a workplace. Following a proactive prosecution case by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) it was found that the company had provided its customers with inaccurate test results, which potentially left employees in those businesses unaware of the risk of serious lung disease. In one incident, an Airtec engineer failed to identify the presence of rubber fumes in a car

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16th February 2023

risk assessments

There’s more to risk assessments than just slips, trips and falls!

Employers are required by law to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all their employees. Risk assessments are just a small part of this process to create a safe working environment. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) describes risk assessments as a ‘step-by-step process for controlling Health & Safety risks caused by hazards in the workplace’. Risk assessments identify potential health and safety hazards to employees and contractors/visitors. They analyse and evaluate associated risks and determine steps to eliminate

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10th October 2022

shipping container fatal accident

Inadequate night shift supervision led to fatality as employee crushed between shipping containers

A cargo handling company has been fined £200,000 after an employee was fatally crushed between shipping containers while working in a container park in Portsmouth. On 25 August 2017, the employee was working a night shift for Portico Shipping Ltd. His job was to connect refrigerated container units to electrical supplies which the forklift operator had placed into position using a container stacker vehicle. It was during one of these manoeuvres that the employee was fatally crushed between two containers.

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22nd September 2022

An important reminder for employers to maintain health and safety standards

A Canadian ferry corporation have been issued with a hefty fine of $674,445 by British Columbian workplace regulator WorkSafeBC, 2 years after the death of one of its workers who drowned after falling from a vessel. On 21 June 2020, a ferry was docked for maintenance on the Fraser River in Richmond when a worker leaned onto a fabric webbing panel that broke away when he was trying to retrieve an item floating in the water. The worker subsequently drowned,

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2nd August 2022

workers on glass roof

Warehouse owner fined after contractor falls 30 feet through skylight

A Blackburn-based warehouse owner has been fined after a roofing contractor fell approximately 30 feet through a glass skylight on a warehouse roof and suffered life-changing injuries. Preston Crown Court heard that a roofing contractor was employed by Floors ‘n’ Carpets Ltd to over-clad the existing roof. On 14 May 2020, one of the contractors fell through the roof sustaining serious injuries to his pelvis, arm, knee, and face and has undergone extensive surgery since. An investigation by the Health

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7th July 2022

workplace safety, PPE, health and safety at work

Food waste recycling company fined £2m and owner jailed after workers drowned in pig feed

On Thursday 16 June, Greenfeeds Ltd (now in liquidation), was found guilty of corporate manslaughter and fined £2 million after Leicester Crown Court found that gross negligence led to the deaths of 2 members of staff in 2016. The owners of the company were convicted of two counts of gross negligence manslaughter and for breaching the Health & Safety at Work Act. They were sentenced to 13 years and 20 months respectively, while the transport manager was also given a

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30th June 2022

changes to the highway code employees of drivers should be aware of

Highway Code updates: Actions for employers

Employers that employ staff in a driving role, or employees who are expected to drive in the course of business, are being advised to take note of recent updates to the Highway Code, ensuring that the changes are communicated to relevant employees and that their Road Safety Policies are amended accordingly. The controversial Highway Code amendments, which were introduced on 29 January 2022, saw updates to nine sections of the code, with 50 rules added or changed. Significantly, the code

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9th February 2022

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