Health and Safety News

Glasgow cash and carry fined £120,000 after worker's fall

A Glasgow wholesale company has been fined £120,000 over health and safety failings when an employee fractured his skull falling through a ceiling. Cash and carry Alfa Wholesale Ltd pled guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court last week. Roman Khan, 24, fell through a plasterboard ceiling while retrieving stock from a mezzanine at the warehouse in Anderston in November 2017.

Gig workers win PPE battle

Gig economy workers are entitled to the same health and safety protection as permanent colleagues, the UK High Court has ruled. Last week, the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) won a judicial review against the UK government calling for workers in the UK gig economy to be granted the rights they are entitled to under European safety and health law, including the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Ban on new petrol and diesel cars promises health boost for professional drivers

As the Government announced yesterday it will bring forward a ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars by five years to 2030, new research shows professional drivers would benefit from improvements to their respiratory health, reducing their risks of cancers caused by their work.

Waste recycling company fined after employee fatally injured

Enva Scotland Limited has been fined following an incident where a 28-year-old employee, Martin Kane, was fatally injured whilst cleaning a mobile shredder. Paisley Sheriff Court heard that on, 28 March 2018, at their Burnbrae Road, Paisley site, two employees were trying to remove waste that was trapped between a heavy magnet and a hopper on the shredder machine. Mr Kane was struck by the magnet, which fell after he manually removed the locking pins that were keeping the magnet in place. He sustained extensive head injuries and died as a result.

Building contractor fined for asbestos failings at a domestic property construction project

A company has been fined for failing to complete the correct asbestos survey at a domestic construction project. Salisbury Magistrates’ Court heard how, on 18 October 2017, there was a gas explosion at a flat at Market Place, Chippenham where construction work had been carried out to develop the property into flats. Following the gas explosion, an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Prestige EA Ltd failed to plan, manage and monitor construction work to prevent persons from being exposed to risks associated with asbestos. Prestige EA Ltd was contracted to advise and manage the development of the property into four flats above a retail unit. The wrong type of asbestos survey was carried out before the work so the work completed was not in compliance with the law.

Proposed new Highway Code could ‘potentially reduce’ road safety

UK drivers and motorcyclists are unconvinced by proposed changes to the Highway Code, according to a survey conducted by road safety charity IAM RoadSmart. A survey, conducted by road safety charity IAM RoadSmart polling 3,600 web poll respondents, has revealed that the majority of road users are opposed to the Department for Transport’s proposed changes to the Highway Code.

Building contractor fined following dumper truck incident

A building contractor has been fined after an employee suffered serious injuries when the forward tipping dumper truck that he was operating rolled over at a construction site in Windermere, Cumbria. S M Dixon Building Contractors Ltd had been working on the renovation of a detached property when the dumper truck, removing rubble over uneven ground, overturned resulting in multiple fractures to vertebrae in the worker’s back, Barrow Magistrates’ Court was told. The incident happened on on 5 June 2019.

Building Safety Bill constructs a new regime

The draft Building Safety Bill has come back from consultation. Out of the ashes of the Grenfell Tower fire, hopes are high that the bill will make at-risk homes in the UK safer. The fire at Grenfell Tower in west London on the night of 14 June 2017, which left 72 people dead, exposed serious flaws in safety systems, and deficiencies in the way buildings are constructed, maintained, refurbished and certified as safe to live in.

Why RoSPA supports a life sentence for dangerous driving

Dr Karen McDonnell, OSH Policy Adviser at RoSPA, explains why seeking to influence policy and legislative change is one of many routes taken by RoSPA to meet its vision of life free from serious accidental injury.

COVID-19: updated reporting guidance for employers

As the UK begins to adapt to another blanket lockdown, it is timely to look at the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) further guidance for employers struggling to determine whether confirmed COVID-19 cases within the workforce are reportable under RIDDOR, writes leading regulatory lawyer Rhian Greaves.