Management

As the UK Parliament is dissolved for the forthcoming general election, any newly elected administration must prioritise workplace health.

Companies need to be vigilant about possible labour exploitation in their supply chains and by contractors, both in the UK and overseas, and ensure they are behaving ethically.

The HSE’s ability to bring prosecutions to a successful conclusion saw a noticeable downturn in 2018/19, as the total number of cases that resulted in a verdict – whether conviction or acquittal – dropped 23% from 509 in 2017/18 to just 393. That is one of a range of insights in the regulator’s annual statistical release, published last week (30 October).

A school board of trustees has been ordered to pay NZ$100,000 (£49,338) after a teacher and student were knocked unconscious and left with brain damage after a mobile scaffold being used to set up lights in the school's auditorium toppled over.

Latest figures from the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland (HSENI) reveal that serious injuries were down by 28% to 325 last year compared to 453 in the previous 12 months. 

The death of an employee at the Coventry tyre distribution centre of logistics company DHL has resulted in a multi-million pound penalty. 

Courts can be overreliant on ‘common sense’ in risk assessment cases. It is time for guidance similar to that which governs statistical evidence.

A new app aimed at helping to make reporting dangerous work practices and risks to workers’ safety easier has been launched by SafeWork NSW in Australia.

How can organisations and health and safety professionals meet workers’ requirements and expectations in line with ISO 45001? 

The UK division of building products manufacturer Cemex has been convicted of safety failings after a worker was killed at its concrete block and paving factory in West Lothian.