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This section details news updates relating to health and safety.
Display Screen Equipment Checklist
The HSE has issued a checklist of factors which should be considered when doing a "display screen equipment" (DSE) assessment.
The checklist will be useful for anyone responsible for the health and safety of staff using a VDU and looks at problems to look for when making an assessment and ways of reducing each risk
The checklist can be viewed here
Health and Safety Benchmarking Tool
The Health and Safety Executive has issued a web-based benchmarking tool which employers may use to measure their health and safety performance.
There are two tools, one for employers with more than 250 staff, and one for those with fewer than this. The employer answers a number of questions and they are then presented with a personalised report outlining what aspects of health and safety they are good at, and which could be improved.
It is then possible to anonymously compare the organisation with similar employers. The website can be found here
Get Fit for Mobile Working
BT Business has published guidance entitled Get Fit for Mobile Working.
The guide looks at some of the health issues which may arise from using new technologies in the workplace (whether that be in an office or at home).
It looks at some of the potential issues caused by mobile working, good posture, comfortably viewing a screen, breaks and reducing stress, comfortably using hand held devices, comfortably using a laptop computer and choosing equipment.
The guidance is available in two versions:
To view the full guidance click here
To view an "at a glance" guide click here
Working Feet and Footwear
The TUC have produced a report on footwear at work entitled Working Feet and Footwear looking at employers’ duty to protect their workers by assessing the suitability of shoes for tasks undertaken.
Slips and trips remain the single most common cause of major injury in UK workplaces, and are responsible for almost 11,000 major injuries each year, according to the HSE. It is therefore important for employers to ensure that smooth floors are kept clean and dry, and in circumstances where slipping remains a risk, slip-resistant shoes must be provided.
To read the report click here
Employees Breaks
Research by HR firm Chiumento has found that only one in six employees in the UK takes a regular lunch break, which could mean that a significant proportion of workers are at an increased risk of work-related stress.
There is currently no legal obligation for employees to take the full and regular breaks available to them, but as employers are responsible for ensuring the safety and health of their employees they should do all they can to prevent the potential negative consequences of employees choosing not to take breaks.
An employer is legally bound to make the following rest breaks available under the provisions of the Working Time Regulations 1998:
An uninterrupted break of 20 minutes when daily working time is greater than six hours, which should be a break in working time and should not be taken either at the start, or at the end, of a working day;
A rest period of 11 consecutive hours rest in each 24 hour period during which an individual works for his employer; and one day off a week, which may be averaged over 2 weeks.
Although an employer cannot be held responsible should correct breaks have been offered to employees and turned down, it is up to the employer to ensure that they encourage staff to take breaks and do not exert any pressure on their employees to encourage them to miss their breaks.
To read more about the Working Time Regulations click here
Health and Safety at Work
The CIPD have updated their Health and Safety at Work factsheet.
It gives an overview of the law in this area, identifies the employer's main responsibilities, and discusses an employer's duties regarding absence, stress and well-being of employees.
To read the factsheet click here
Health, Work and Wellbeing
ACAS have issued guidance on health at work entitled "Health, work and wellbeing".
The document looks at the connection between health and work, promoting health and wellbeing and has appendices which give guidance on how to implement policies and procedures and includes model policies on drugs and alcohol.
To read the guidance click here
Managing Drug and Alcohol Misuse at Work
CIPD has issued guidance on managing drug and alcohol misuse at work. It includes information on developing a policy, recruitment , providing support and taking disciplinary action, supporting the substance misuser, testing for drug and alcohol misuse at work and the legal implications of managing drug and alcohol misuse at work
The download the guidance click here
Display Screen Equipment Advice
The Health and Safety Executive FAQ (frequently asked questions) on Display Screen Equipment (VDUs) has been updated.
It covers issues such as How can I protect my eyes? and How do the regulations apply to work with laptops?
To read this information click here
Health and Safety Guidance for Workers from Overseas
The Health and Safety Executive has produced guidance for workers from overseas in 13 languages including Chinese, Portuguese and many east European languages.
To view this guidance click here
Risk Assessment for Village Halls and Small Community Centres
The Health and Safety Executive has produced example risk assessment for village halls, which are also suitable for small community centres etc.
To view this information click here
REACH May Mean a Need to Update COSHH
REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation & restriction of Chemicals) is a new European Union regulation which came into force on 1st June 2007 to replace a number of European Directives and Regulations with a single system. This change may mean you need to update your COSHH (Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health) assessments.
To find out more click here
Paramedics at Events
The Health and Safety Executive is reviewing and updating its Event Safety Guide, but in the meantime it has issued clarification on the position of paramedics and ambulance technicians at events.
To read this information click here
Display Screen Equipment
The Health and Safety Executive has a new Display Screen Equipment section on its web site, bringing together a variety of useful material around the use of computer workstations. To view this click here
Accessibility Checkers
The Virtual Hosting website has put together a round-up of 25 Website Accessibility Checkers. This list can be viewed here
More information on hazards available online
A key section of the new edition of the TUC's best-selling safety publication 'Hazards at Work' has been made available online and include information on individual hazards or risk areas such as asbestos, asthma, bullying, chemicals and dust, drugs and alcohol.
To access the information go to http://www.tuc.org.uk/h_and_s/ and click on a subject on the left of the page.
Health and Safety Advice for Managers
A revised version of the Health and Safety Executive's booklet 'Workplace health, safety and welfare: a short guide for managers' has been published.
You can download a pdf of the document from http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg244.pdf
Don’t have too many safety signs
Each month the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) publicises a myth about health and safety, the latest is that "Every possible risk needs a safety sign"
The HSE believes that if too many signs are used it guarantees no one will read any of them. Their view is that serious risks should be tackled by practical steps, not just signs.
To read more about signs and risk principles go to www.hse.gov.uk/myth/dec07.htm
Leading health and safety at work
The Health and Safety Commission, in conjunction with the Institute, has produced a new "microsite" entitled "Leading health and safety at work". It is aimed at all business leaders, including those in the voluntary sector. of Directors
It outlines an employer's legal obligations, identifies "core actions" for leaders of small and medium sized organisations, has a health and safety checklist and provides details of health and safety resources for small organisations.
The microsite can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/leadership/index.htm
Driving for work: Fitness to drive RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of
Accidents) has issued guidance entitled "Driving for work: Fitness to drive".
It covers issues such as health and driving, medical rules, long term illness and temporary ill health, eyesight, pregnant drivers at work, drivers with disabilities, stress and other mental health issues. It also includes a model "Company Driver Fitness to Drive Policy"
To download the document go to www.rospa.com/roadsafety/info/workfitness.pdf
Child protection update
Voluntary Arts Network has a new briefing paper, 'Child Protection Part III – An Update', covering the changes in the law around working or volunteering with children since their earlier briefings in 2004.
This can be downloaded from http://www.voluntaryarts.org/uploaded/map6082.pdf
If you want to download the previous parts go to: http://digbig.com/4trpf
Health and safety for disabled people
The Health and Safety Executive has new material around health and safety for disabled people at work, including issues around risk assessment, at http://www.hse.gov.uk/disability/index.htm
There’s an Easy to Read guide, produced with the Disability Rights Commission, in pdf format, 730kb, from http://www.hse.gov.uk/disability/easyread.pdf
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