Yes indeed the Health and Safety at Work act is 40 years old on the 31st July!
But what has it achieved I hear you ask?
Much of the press around Health and Safety relates to the ‘Nanny State’, its Boring, it’s a waste of time, the compensation culture etc etc
But let us reflect on the facts below….. (facts provided by the HSE, opinion by me Sarah Daniels Chartered Practitioner)
148 workers were killed at work, a rate of 0.5 fatalities per 100 000 workers- this has been coming down steadily over the last 40 years; from 1974 to 2013 by 85 % to be exact; something to be really proud of; how many of you remember the Olympics – the Health and Safety legacy was that no one died in the construction of the games; a huge step forward and a pat on the back for Team GB
78 222 other injuries to employees were reported under RIDDOR, a rate of 311.6 per 100 000 employees. This is a drop of some 77% to 2012; again something to be mighty proud of! 175 000 reportable injuries (defined as over-7-day absence) occurred, according to the Labour Force Survey, a rate of 610 per 100 000 workers. This is a difficult figure to compare to 1974 as the parameters have changed, as has the way we work. But it is generally in a downward trend. Ill health- the tough bit of Health and Safety!
1.1 million people who worked during the last year* were suffering from an illness (long-standing as well as new cases) they believed was caused or made worse by their current or past work. 0.5million of these were new conditions which started during the year*. This is fortunately in decline
A further 0.7 million former workers (who last worked over 12 months ago) were suffering from an illness which was caused or made worse by their past work*. 2291 people died from mesothelioma in 2011 and thousands more from other occupational cancers and diseases such as COPD. These diseases are as a direct result of work many years ago, and should now be going into decline, Asbestos has been banned for the last 14 years- but of course it is still present & often hidden in buildings Enforcement
I am from an Enforcement background ( I left over 15 years ago) but enforcement is about protecting all of us- the HSE & Local Authorities have a tough task with dwindling resources; it would be great if every employer & every employee accepted their Health and Safety responsibilities; but some sadly flout the law!
So 574 cases were prosecuted by HSE in England and Wales. With a further 105 cases being prosecuted by local authorities in England and Wales (Environmental Health & Fire Officers) – some may think we need more prosecutions? I think more personal responsibility and education! 27 cases were prosecuted by the Procurator Fiscal in Scotland. 13 503 enforcement notices were issued by all enforcing authorities. These are a mixture of improvement & prohibition notices; many of these are public documents. We also now have the Fee For Intervention Scheme in place which allows the HSE to recoup the time it takes in rectifying significant & material breaches found by its inspectors.
Working days lost 27 million days were lost overall in 2011/12* due to work-related ill health or injury (17 days per case). 22.7 million due to work-related ill health and 4.3 million due to workplace injury. A more recent estimate for injuries indicates that 5.2 million days were lost in 2012/13 (no data is available for ill health). The biggest areas are Stress & Musculoskeletal – both preventable; and like fatalities and injuries these cases involve a real human cost. People need to understand the consequences of their actions, to themselves, to the business and to society as a whole. As the Economic costs to Britain is…. Workplace injuries and ill health (excluding cancer) cost society an estimated £13.8 billion in 2010/11 (based on 2011 prices). This is jaw dropping- and can be money better spent!
A great step forward in PR for Health and Safety in April 2012 has been the Mythbuster series https://www.hse.gov.uk/myth/ we regularly tweet these out from @NewsfromRedCat you do wonder what some people think is Health and Safety!
Another plus from the HSE has been making lots of its resources free! Yes free including templates and guidance; you do need to understand your requirements so may need external help- but there is a wealth of information at www.hse.gov.uk.
And lastly the HSE also launched a Consultant’s register; www.oshcr.org so you can check the background / qualifications etc of your external Health and Safety Consultant- if they are not on the register you need to ask them why!
So I will be celebrating the fact that the Health and Safety at Work Act is 40 years old; I still have a copy from my training days- it is a great piece of legislation – it has not been altered in all those years, because it is succinct to the point and ensures the Health, Safety & Welfare of us all at work!
*These are 2011/12 figures
