Lawford Kidd's Blog

Britain may be one of the safest places to work in Europe, but recently released figures have revealed that too many British workers are still being injured or made ill by work.

According to injury and ill-health statistics released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), an estimated 28.2 million working days were lost due to work related ill health or injury in 2013/14.

As a result, the cost to society from such injuries and new cases of ill health due to current working conditions is an estimated £14.2 billion (2012/13 figures based on 2012 prices).

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has expressed its disappointment after the House of Lords voted in favour of Government plans to deregulate areas of health and safety.

Clause 1 of the Government’s Deregulation Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament, contains plans to make certain self-employed workers exempt from health and safety law.

IOSH opposes the clause and has raised concern that exemption could lead to confusion, lower standards and increase the risk of injury and illness at work. Other bodies have also raised similar concerns.

The road safety charity, Brake, has appealed to employers this week to do more to prevent the deaths and serious injuries of pedestrians and cyclists.

The plea comes after recent government statistics show six people are killed every week while walking or cycling, and a further 157 are seriously injured. The Department of Transport figures therefore prove that pedestrians, cyclist and motorcyclists are our most vulnerable road users, accounting for 59 per cent of all UK road deaths and serious injuries.

Since at least 24 per cent of road deaths and serious injuries involve a vehicle being used for work, it is essential that employers take steps to educate and train staff to improve their understanding of road safety. 

The Health and Safety Executive has launched safety campaign after new research found tradespeople, including construction workers, carpenters and painters and decorators, could come into contact with deadly asbestos on average more than 100 times a year.

The survey also revealed some common myths believed by those at risk, with one in seven (14%) believing that drinking a glass of water will help protect them from the deadly dust and one in four (27%) thinking that opening a window will help to keep them safe.

Only a third (30%) of those asked were able to identify all the correct measures for safe asbestos working, whilst more than half (57%) made at least one potentially lethal mistake in trying to identify how to stay safe.

An international Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) conference was held in Glasgow recently which brought together health and safety professionals, researchers and academics from 27 countries, to discuss how academic findings can be used to better protect people at work.

There were eight keynote presentations featuring around 100 research projects from all over the globe presented during the four day conference. Research from Europe, North America, South America, China and Australia was presented during the conference, organised on behalf of workingonsafety.net. There were specialist presentations, including accident prevention in Denmark, evaluations in workplace safety in Canada, and research in Spain regarding emerging risks associated with new technologies. The conference highlighted that although there are culture differences in workplaces around the world, the challenges faced are often very similar.

The overall opinion on the conclusion of the conference was that in order to cut the number of people being harmed at work, academics and industry must find ways to work together to create practical solutions to health and safety issues.