Trades Union Congress: Nearly Half of UK Workplaces Lacking Safety Inspections

A new survey put out by the Trades Union Congress shows that nearly half of UK workplaces have never had a health and safety inspection, with more that 80% of construction workplaces lacking any Health and Safety inspections at all. Manufacturing was the only sector that boasted a majority (57%) of safety reps claiming to have had an inspection from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) during the past year. By 2019/2020 government funding of the HSE will have been slashed by nearly half, and in recent years, local councils have reduced workplace inspections by 97%. The General Secretary for the Trades Union Congress has stated how “huge cuts to the HSE and to local authorities continue to undermine vital safety protections at work. That means more workers at risk of accidents in unsafe workplaces every day.” Read more here.

Insufficient Risk Assessment and Unsafe Work System Lead to UK Worker Losing His Arm in Dangerous Machinery

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) lead an investigation into a 2013 accident where a worker lost his arm while cleaning a potato grinder. The investigation found that there were unsafe systems of work being used, which involved cleaning and clearing blockages from the rollers while they were still rotating under power. On 25 January 2016, W B Daw & Son of Staffordshire, was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay costs of £25,000 after being found guilty of breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.  HSE Inspector David Brassington said: "Incidents of this kind are all too common and generally have serious consequences. The onus is on employers to ensure that suitable and sufficient risk assessments are undertaken for work activities involving exposure to dangerous parts of machinery, and to make sure that robust safe systems of work are implemented to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery."  Read more here.