Nearly 11 000 workers suffered serious injury as a result of a slip or trip last year. Reducing this unnecessary injury toll is a priority and Shattered Lives (External website**) is our latest campaign. Find out what happens when workers are put at risk and what you can do to stop slips and trips in your workplace.
The enforcement of health and safety in workplaces is split between the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local authorities, like High Peak Borough Council. This is under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
The HSE covers factories, building sites, nursing homes, mines and quarries, farms, fairgrounds, railways, chemical plant and offshore and nuclear installations.
The Council covers shops, warehouses, offices, hotels and catering, sports, leisure, consumer services (such as launderettes), hairdressers, undertakers, shoe repair, tyre and exhaust fitters, residential care homes and churches. It is staff from Environmental Health who will visit businesses in connection with health and safety.
We will inspect businesses in the borough, based on risk and type of work activity, and the frequency of our inspections depend mainly on these criteria. Our aim is to ensure that health and safety at work is effectively managed and to help businesses to meet the legal responsibilities. In addition, we investigate accidents at work and complaints about unsafe working conditions. Where there are significant failings, or where people are put at serious risk of injury or ill health, we will normally take appropriate enforcement action. We operate to the Health and Safety Commission Enforcement Policy and our own Enforcement Policy. In addition, the Council is a signatory to the Good Enforcement Concordat.
The Council, in our work as an enforcing authority for Health and Safety, also works towards the Guidance (on the HSE website) (external website**), set out for enforcing authorities, under section 18 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Our Inspectors concentrate on those things which are most likely to kill, injure and make people ill at work. We also expect you to have identified and taken action on other risks, which are specifically created by your work activities. Briefly, the priority topics are listed below, with detailed guidance:
The Council will still be working on local priority matters including Radon (premises in Buxton and the Hope Valley).
Inspections are usually unannounced, but if we need to speak to someone specific, then we may make an appointment. The inspectors can talk to managers, supervisors, employees, health and safety representatives and other interested persons. In addition to looking around your premises, they will examine safety related paperwork, such as:
We are under a legal obligation to tell employees about issues affecting their health, safety or welfare at their workplace. This may be done verbally at the time of the visit and, possibly, by sending a copy of any correspondence to employees. At the end of the visit, you will be advised what further action, if any, is going to be taken. If we are going to write, we will tell you when you can expect to hear from us. In any correspondence, we will seek to provide you with useful and relevant advice on what you need to do.
Inspectors have wide ranging powers to enter any premises (in conducting their statutory duties), to take samples, take copies of documents, stop dangerous work activities immediately, and require people to make a statement about something they may not give voluntarily.
The Act sets out general duties which employers have towards employees and members of the public, and employees have to themselves and each other. These duties are qualified in the Act by the principle of "so far as is reasonably practicable". This means the degree of risk in any particular workplace, or work activity, needs to be balanced against the
What the law requires is what good management and common sense would lead employers to do anyway – that is, to look at what the risks are and then take sensible (control) measures to tackle them. The Management of Health and Safety At Work Regulations 1999, which are made under the Act, generally make more explicit what employers are required to do The main requirements are to:
There are also regulations which cover specific issues, such as electricity, work equipment, work conditions, lifting equipment, computer (DSE) use and manual handling, just to name a few. The best way to check what you need to do is to visit the HSE website and choose a topic from the main page:
The key to ensuring health and safety at work is effective management, as with any aspect of a business. This does not have to be time consuming or complicated. However, the more risks involved in a work activity, such as in a chemical factory, the more detailed the management documents will need to be.
The law requires that all employers assess the risks to themselves, their staff and the public, that are caused by the business activities. If you have five or more staff, you are required to write this down, as well as to have a written Safety Policy. A Safety Policy simply sets out who in the company is responsible for health and safety, and how key issues will be dealt with.
Contrary to the myths, there are no set timescales under health and safety laws for when you should do electrical inspections. All are recommendations. However, there is a requirement to maintain electrical systems and equipment in a safe condition. The only way to check this is to have an electrical safety test. There may, however, be specific conditions on licences, such as Caravan Site Licences requiring, for example, a three-yearly safety test.
The Institute of Electrical Engineers (IEE) Wiring Regulations, which have been adopted as a British Standard (BS 7671), recommend that all fixed installations be tested for safety at least once every five years or sooner, based on contractors' guidance.
Please note: After testing the above installations, the competent person may determine the maximum period between inspections should be less than those stated.
The following guidance has been prepared to help employers and the self employed comply with the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.
Generally, any piece of electrical equipment which has a plug fitted, such as kettles, heaters, computers, photo-copiers, extension leads.
The law requires portable electrical equipment to be designed, operated and maintained, including being tested and examined.
The Local Authority inspectors carry out spot checks on selected businesses, but whether you have been inspected or not, you must comply with the law. Should there be an accident at your workplace, you may be liable to a fine of up to £20,000 at the Magistrates' Court.
Not every piece of equipment requires testing – a simple and inexpensive system for looking for visual signs of damage or faults will control most of the electrical risks. However, some appliances (refer to practical guidance) require more thorough testing, such as earth bond, continuity, insulation, earth leakage and flash testing.
For further guidance, please visit the Health and Safety Executive website (External website**).
The appliance should be switched off before looking for signs of:
Any qualified electrician, such as a NICEIC or ECA or NAPIT approved contractor can carry out these tests.
Your copies of test certificates and records would verify this, and may prove crucial in the event of an inspection or litigation.
All premises – any place of work that has a gas installation and/or gas appliances installed – must be maintained in such a way as to prevent risk of injury to any person. The definition of what is an appropriate maintenance programme will be determined by the installation's age, condition and usage. If an inspector is of the opinion that the installation is not being properly maintained and may give rise to danger, enforcement action may be taken.
In any room where there is a gas appliance (boiler or heater, etc), and the room is or can be used for sleeping or dining andlounging, then that appliance MUST be checked for safety at intervals not exceeding 12 months by a CORGI registered engineer. A record book must be kept in respect of the appliances including:
This guidance is intended to give an overview of some of the main pieces of legislation that cover many workplaces. Further information can be obtained from the Health and Safety Executive (External website**).
All property owners are required to tell the Council if they have any Cooling Towers or Evaporative Condensers. This is because these types of systems can spread Legionnaires disease, if they are not properly controlled. The following is a list of existing devices registered with High Peak Borough Council. If yours is not on the list, please contact us. In addition to registering, businesses must ensure they have control methods in place.
Certain Accidents and dangerous occurrences should always be reported to us or the HSE. Thankfully they are a rare occurrence for most businesses, but when they happen, you need to know what to do.
Details of what types of accidents are reportable and when accidents should be reported are given here on the RIDDOR facts page (External website**).
Reporting accidents does two things: It helps us to know what types of accidents are causing the most injuries, so we know where to target our resources to have the most effect, and it enables accidents to be independently investigated if necessary to ensure that health and safety laws are being complied with.
Finally, if you don’t report an accident, and you should have done, you can be prosecuted.
The erection of scaffolding is subject to safety regulations. The Council has a responsibility for scaffolding erected over roads and footpaths. Scaffolding placed on or over the highway also needs a highway licence from Derbyshire County Council.
Our officers are happy to help with any questions you may have regarding the health and safety law. For any health and safety query:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) can be contacted directly at www.hse.gov.uk (External website**), or on their infoline – call 0845 345 0055.
The HSE also have an extensive range of free and priced guidance documents on various topics available through their website.
Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council has developed a series of useful guides on specific topics. Visit their website (External website**).
**Please note: High Peak Borough Council is not responsible for the content of any external websites.