HSE now has a policy of ‘looking beyond the garden gate’ in construction accidents. in this particular case the directors of a roofing business, and also the director of the business which contracted this work out to them, have seen custodial sentences (see our earlier blog for another example of this type of prosecution: Directors…
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At our recent round of breakfast clubs we discussed the HSE Judicial Review being brought by OCS Group after the FFI fine imposed upon it by HSE linked to its operations at Heathrow Airport. Key to the review was the HSE being able to act as a ‘judge in its own cause’ – something which…
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Warburtons Limited, a large national breadmaker has been fined £2 million plus costs of £19,609.28 after a worker carrying out routine mixing machine cleaning lost his footing and fell nearly 2 metres to the floor below. He was hospitalised and suffered a compression fracture to his spine and was unable to return to his work…
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In a move which would have been unheard of just a year ago a magistrates court has handed a fine to DFS Trading Ltd of £1m plus costs of £15,099 On 2 July 2015 the worker was unloading wooden furniture frames at one of the firms upholstery sites when he was struck by an unsecured…
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Both a Principal Contractor and other contractors have been fined following a worker falling over 7 metres through a fragile roof which was being replaced. Our belief is that the client was lucky not to be prosecuted as a key requirement on them is to ensure that those they appoint are competent and adequately resourced…
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We work for a number of education establishments and the risks within them are diverse, its a challenge for a person or a small team to manage each of them. This example represents a situation which could arise in any number of similar organisations when risk isn’t adequately controlled, the consequences here could have been…
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As we have a cold weather front approaching and some real winter may well be approaching… that leads us to the old stories and tales about slips on ice and who is responsible. Most of what we hear from good intentioned colleagues has to be taken with a pinch of salt – even advice from…
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This is an interesting question which sometimes arises for the hundreds of clients we support across the UK. Imagine that a new employee starts working at your business or a temporary employee becomes permanent and they already have their own Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Given the links back to the Health and Safety At Work…
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Health is becoming the central thrust of any HSE visit and with good reason, health causes a huge impact on individuals and a massive strain on our NHS. However, not all safety professionals are aware of these risks well enough to control them and that’s where expert, external, independent advice can be invaluable. Alveolitis is…
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