A Monmouth roof refurbishment company has been fined after an employee was injured in a six-metre fall from the roof of a house in Cirencester. Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court heard today (17 September) that 26 year-old Lee Hanson, from South Shields, was using a roof ladder as he replaced tiles when the incident happened on 28…
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Norfolk based business AgChemAccess, an international agrochemicals supplier with a workforce of about 65 people, intends to sue the HSE for around £2m in lost business. The HSE took enforcement action on 10 July, prohibiting the company from moving any of its UK stock, as the regulator believed there was a breach of safety regulations…
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Sherborne School in Dorset has been fined £60,000 with £13,000 costs for failure to manage the risk from exposure to asbestos fibres and for failings under the CDM Regulations 2007. (Note: both contractors and designers have a duty to inform the client of their duty to appoint a competent CDM Coordinator for all projects lasting…
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A recent case involved a builder being fined £100,000 for the deaths of an elderly couple following renovations to their home. This is a case which is worthy of note and this update contains information, particularly in the graphic below (developed by British Gas) vital information for anyone having work conducted at their premises…
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It remains uncommon knowledge that there are two distinct types of asbestos fibre, amphibole and serpentine. They differ in the structure of their mineral crystals, one being based on iron silicates and one being a magnesium silicate. In simple terms, the types which we see being spoken about within industry and construction are blue, brown…
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Personal injury and the claims culture – when and how are you considered negligent? Many clients have seen claims made against them and also many others simply operate in fear of being sued for some negligence that they may or may not have caused. When someone, an employee or a member of the public, slips,…
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Update from Lindsey Hall, our occupational health consultant “From the start of this month, GPs will begin to provide computer generated fit notes and I have attached the guidance for both employers and employees for information. These will be the same design as the current note although on one side of A4 paper. There will…
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The common view of the CDM Regulations is that they only apply to commercial work and that it must be either demolition or dismantling or come under the 30 day / 500 person day rule. This is NOT the case. Reference to the regulations show that the requirements above relate strictly to the requirement to…
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We are currently in a situation where personal injury claims are at a record level and most of these, around 70%, are linked not to health and safety but to road traffic accidents. In addition to this legal fees, as a proportion of these claims, are at a record high of 142% of the total…
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Temperatures in the workplace have long been a point of discussion not just for safety professionals and managers but for anyone who works in a busy office. Ever since the days fo the Factories Act we have had defined figures for what is and isn’t acceptable but these have always been regarding the minimum and…
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