Lawford Kidd's Blog

A five-prong plan for driving down the number of people killed and seriously injured in the waste and recycling industry has been published.

The Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) Forum has been working on its blueprint for better risk management since a landmark summit in February, and the final plan puts the focus on those areas where industry leaders agree action needs to be concentrated.

WISH’s plan outlines 24 immediate action points under five strategic themes – providing strong leadership, involving the workforce, building competence, creating healthier and safer workplaces, and providing support for small and medium sized employers.

The European Commission (EC) has launched a public consultation on the results of the evaluation of the European Strategy on Safety and Health at Work 2007-2012.

The consultation aims to help identify current and future challenges in the occupational safety and health area, and identify solutions to address these challenges.

"Accidents at work are at a historically low level, and the European Union’s occupational safety and health standards are a reference for the rest of the world,” commented László Andor, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.

Severely injured people, forced to gamble with their compensation to cover the cost of future support, could face having their damages cut further under Government proposals.

High-value damages payments are subject to a reduction to offset any interest that may be earned over time. Despite the fall in interest rates during the recession, the current “discount rate” has not been reviewed since 2001, which the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) warns is costing critically injured people the money they need for their care in the future.

“If a man is paralysed, for example, he is likely to need specialist equipment and therapies for the rest of his life. His damages to pay for these things are very carefully calculated by the courts, but under the current discount rate that money is being reduced too far and there is a very real danger it could run out,” explained APIL’s president Matthew Stockwell.

The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill received Royal Assent recently. The Act contains reforms relating to a wide variety of areas, including changes to employment law, health and safety rules and copyright regulation.

The Bill, which was introduced to the House of Commons on 23rd May 2012, has attracted a considerable amount of controversy during its passage through the House of Commons and House of Lords.

Bad news for injury at work victims

New regulations to control the risks posed by needles and other 'sharps' in healthcare came into effect this month.

The Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations came into force on 11th May 2013. Northern Ireland introduced equivalent regulations on the same date.

The Health and Safety Executive introduced the new regulations to implement a European Directive. They supplement the existing health and safety legislation that already requires employers across all sectors to take effective action to control the risk from sharps injuries.