Articles by Nick Warburton

Safe Work Australia has amended the model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Regulations and published a new model code of practice to make duties in relation to psychosocial hazards clearer and help duty holders comply with these duties.

The Isle of Man government has brought into force the island’s first legal powers to reduce asbestos exposure in the workplace.

A series of Freedom of Information (FoI) requests made by the trade union Unite (https://www.unitetheunion.org/news-events/news/2022/august/frightening-drop-in-construction-safety-inspections-exposed/) has highlighted a significant decline in the number of ‘proactive’ inspections that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has made in the construction sector since 2013/14.

Dyson Technologies has been handed a £1.2 million fine after a worker at its Wiltshire site narrowly escaped being crushed by a 1.5 tonne milling machine.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published the third edition of its free-to-order Fire safety in construction (https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/hsg168.htm) book, which includes an added focus on eliminating or reducing fire risks at the design stage.

A new report from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) has underlined the need for stronger OSH protections in response to the growing focus on psychosocial work to support wellbeing and productivity, changes to working practices brought about by COVID-19 and technological advances in the economy.

Only 40% of disabled workers surveyed (https://www.learningdisabilitytoday.co.uk/two-thirds-of-disabled-workers-think-businesses-should-do-more-to-support-them-into-employment) by a hiring platform believe there are good employment opportunities available to them despite UK government figures showing a twelve-fold increase in ‘Disability Confident’ job adverts

The number of fit notes that GPs issued last year was the highest on record and may have been driven by a rise in Covid infections, a specialist employment law firm has suggested.

The UK government has rejected the Work and Pensions Committee’s key recommendation that policy makers should commit to removing all asbestos from public buildings within 40 years.

The Netherlands government has taken a step closer to giving employees the right to work from home by approving legislation that requires employers to consider home working requests.