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May/June 2023 issue

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News

UK Supreme Court rules on enforcement notice appeal evidence

Open-access content Thursday 15th February 2018
From the archive:  Just so you know, this article is more than 3 years old.

UK Supreme Court rules on enforcement notice appeal evidence

Oil exploration company Chevron was served a prohibition notice in 2013 for corroded stairs and platform leading to a helideck on one of its offshore platforms, which a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector believed rendered the stairway unsafe.

Appealing successfully against the notice at an employment tribunal, Chevron relied on an expert inspection and test of the stairway it had commissioned after receiving the notice. The expert's report showed the metalwork passed British Standard strength test and was fit for use.

The HSE appealed the decision on the grounds that in a previous case, Hague v Rotary Yorkshire Ltd (2014), the Court of Appeal held that courts should not use hindsight in judging whether a notice was justified.

The latest judgment the Supreme Court ruled that a tribunal is entitled to take into account all available evidence, not just that that was available to the inspector when they decided to serve the notice.

Delivering the judgment on behalf of the court, Lady Black noted that inspectors should still serve notices if they believe it is necessary to ensure the safety of workers or others, since they will not always be able to wait for full investigation of the circumstances. She also noted that if a tribunal cancels a notice there is no implied criticism of the inspector. The appeal is an appeal against a notice, not against the inspector's opinion.

"The Supreme Court has cleared up the confusion about what evidence tribunals can consider in hearing appeals against notices," said Ian Wright, barrister at Five Paper chambers, who appeared as junior counsel at the Supreme Court hearing.

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Image credit: ©iStock/George Clerk

 Scottish council fined for unauthorised roadworks

Tuesday 20th February 2018
The Scottish Road Works Commissioner said the local authority had breached s 118 of Scotland’s New Roads and Street Works Act, which states that road works authorities must co-ordinate works safely with minimal disruption.
Open-access content
© iStock/Oleg Chepurin

 High levels of worker representation linked to better stress management

Thursday 22nd February 2018
Organisations in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, the Nordic countries and southern Europe, such as Spain and Portugal, were also likely to have higher levels of good practice than those in other countries.
Open-access content
Image credit: ©Steve Fareham (cc-by-sa/2.0)

 Butane leak lands refinery £400k COMAH fine

Thursday 1st March 2018
Grimsby Magistrates’ Court was told that the leak happened during a maintenance shutdown that takes place every four years.  One of the planned tasks during the shutdown of processing units, pipework, vents and drains was the connection of a new 1 km-long butane line between two processing units.The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the contractor who connected the pipework had not checked the whole line to ensure it had been properly installed and all the valves were closed.
Open-access content

 AAPG inquiry launched into workplace falls from height

Tuesday 30th January 2018
The group is seeking evidence from interested stakeholders until 2 March 2018, after which date it will consider the evidence and produce a report with recommendations on how to reduce the frequency of such accidents. The APPG, which was formed in October 2017, is chaired by Glasgow Central MP Alison Thewliss and sponsored by the Prefabricated Access Suppliers’ and Manufacturers’ Association (PASMA) and Access Industry Forum (AIF).
Open-access content
©iStock/ThomasVogel

 ISO 45001 due for publication in March

Monday 29th January 2018
National standards bodies (NSBs) voted on the final draft international standard (FDIS) in a ballot that ended on 25 January. It was approved by 93% of them, well above the 75% required for adoption.The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is currently considering comments for correction from several of the NSBs.News of the publication date follows a long and complex development process. The first draft was published in July 2014, however it received only 42 votes of approval during a May 2016 ballot and was redrafted.
Open-access content
© iStock/ Jacob Ammentorp Lund

 UK self-employed safety law exemption breaches charter, says European committee

Friday 26th January 2018
The committee, a monitoring body of the 47-nation Council of Europe, ruled on 24 January that a change in UK law in 2015 which removed certain self-employed work from the HSW Act, breached the UK’s international obligations.Although the committee recognised that only those in relatively less risky work were not now covered by health and safety regulations, it added that the UK was failing to live up to its commitments in the charter.
Open-access content
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