A local authority (acting as a CDM Client) and its two contractors have been fined in excess of £1.5 million following two incidents involving roadworks on a busy Liverpool city centre road. A man died and another was seriously injured while attempting to cross Queens Drive in Liverpool during major resurfacing works which happened in…
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Between February 2016 and August 2016, we have seen a significant HSE Fines increase. These totalled totalled £20.6 million, compared to £14.4 million in February 2015 to August 2015 (please note that these costs may in fact be significantly higher as the data does not include sentences imposed in cases prosecuted by local authorities). HSE…
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In July HSE ran a consultation on health and safety enforcement allocation with a view to how it shares its enforcement role with local authorities EHO’s (environmental health officers). A number of options were on the table ranging from completely absorbing the LAs’ regulatory powers for health and safety to allocating them greater duties. It…
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Research by law firm Clyde & Co. has shown that the number of company directors prosecuted by HSE in the year to 31 March 2016 more than trebled from 15 to 46 persons. In the same period the number of employees prosecuted has fallen from 10 persons to just 1. According to the research of…
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Back in 2013 we wrote a post informing you of the changes which were made on strict liability which links directly to no win no fee liability; read our original post here A number of changes were put together which aimed to cap the costs charged by solicitors and to remove the incentive to make…
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In a move which we suspected might come to pass some years ago it has been announced that health and safety enforcement may change for smaller businesses. During July 2016 the HSE ran a consultation on health and safety enforcement allocation. Chiefly, it looked at the role of the local authorities. A range of options…
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The owner of a Gloucester takeaway (Best Takeaway, 136 Eastgate Street, Gloucester) has this week been prosecuted for serious breaches of fire safety legislation. Ilhami Ince, originally of London, appeared at Cheltenham Magistrates Court on the 15th August 2016 for failing to comply with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. This hearing followed an earlier…
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Norwich-based Solar panel installer Durrant Electrical and Mechanical Ltd, trading as Green Home Energy Solutions, had admitted a single charge of breaching working at height regulations on September 26, 2013. Solar panel installer falls through fragile asbestos roof, company fined more than £20,000 The accident occurred when employee Chris Eldon was measuring up an asbestos roof…
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So, here you are. Steadily driving your way home along a motorway, mile after mile and junction after junction, perhaps in kind of semi aware state casually glancing at the sat nav, speedo or rear view mirror. Every now and then you find yourself simply gazing at the view ahead and seconds turn into minutes…
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Sometimes you just feel that something isn’t right, you can’t explain exactly why but you have that feeling, your subconscious is telling you to look a little more closely or probe a bit deeper. We think there is a case for intuition in safety and here’s why. I read an interesting article recently by Dr…
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