Health and Safety News

The union body TUC is of the opinion that all businesses must be made to submit their health and safety enforcement standards. The head of safety of TUC Hugh Robertson says that not only should the businesses file a report on this issue, but the regulators must also put into action enforcement laws for the [...]

Extending the debate on making directors more directly responsible for the welfare of their employees, a labour MP has mooted a new bill which aims to give precise guidelines on what these responsibilities are. This new bill is hoped to make a visible difference where the previous ones failed.
Aberdeen North MP, Frank Doran, has [...]

The owner of a fireworks firm and his 25-year-old son have been jailed after being convicted of killing two fire fighters due to their negligence. The firemen were killed in a massive blast at their family-run company named Alpha Fireworks Ltd (formerly called Festival Fireworks UK Ltd).
The owner Martin Winter has been jailed for seven [...]

Recently there were rumours that the Department of Health was likely to suggest that pregnant women should avoid public gatherings in order to prevent swine flu. The basis of these rumours was that pregnant women are seen as more susceptible to swine flu than other people, especially during their second and third trimesters. Due to [...]

Although his Higher Walton based company was issued a warning for breaching anti-smoking laws in the past, Martin Lenehan, Operations Director at Metric Scaffolding UK Ltd was caught red-handed, smoking on his desk. He was caught and prosecuted by South Ribble Borough Council in January.
When caught, Lenehan refused to pay the £50 fixed penalty and [...]

The prosecution of Dairy Farmers of Britain Ltd, which cost them £10,000 and an order to pay costs of £2,916 at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court has prompted a warning from the HSE to all the employers to ensure that vehicle and pedestrian circulation was safe at workplaces. The Dairy Farmers of Britain Ltd was guilty of [...]

When Alexander Wright, employed as a geologist in Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings, died due to the collapse of a trench in which he was collecting soil samples, the director of the company, Mr. Peter Eaton was held liable for gross negligence manslaughter. This is the first case under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act, 2007.
Other [...]

The Health and Safety Executive has asked company directors to get out of the comfort of the boardrooms and reach out to their employees to understand their concerns about health and safety.
Speaking at the annual Rivers Lecture in London, Ms Judith Hackitt from the HSE said that the directors need to show more interest in [...]