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Published March 1, 2021 · Updated March 1, 2021

Are your LEV Systems COVID safe?

With the ever increasing infection and death rates of COVID- 19, now, more than ever is the time to ensure your working environments are safe, as the health of employees during the pandemic is paramount.

If you work in an industry where dust and fumes are commonplace, you will already be familiar with the challenges that the Covid-19 outbreak has had on safety inspection and compliance, including how important it is to ensure a robust Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) system. But have you considered the impact that a poorly maintained environment will have on your employees in today’s climate, and how that will ultimately impact the efficiency of your productivity?

Essential Ventilation

Over time, the performance of LEV systems will naturally decline due to blockages and wear and tear, meaning that the poor filtration of dust and fumes from industrial equipment could begin to contaminate the air and affect the health of your workforce. Respiratory diseases like asthma, lung scarring and cancer can all be exacerbated by poorly ventilated working environments, therefore leaving employees vulnerable to airborne viruses like Covid-19, ultimately impacting your workforce capabilities and bottom line.

To ensure your LEV system complies with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) regulations, inspection and testing is recommended to be done every 14 months, yet because of local and national lockdowns many companies are finding it challenging to prioritise inspections due to limited resources.

Recently, The HSE released a Covid-19 safe guide to inspection and testing of LEV systems during the Coronavirus outbreak which states that they ‘expect duty holders to make all reasonable efforts to arrange thorough examination and testing to be carried out within the statutory time limits’. Organisations operating at limited capacity with fractions of their workforce limited to home working or due to imposed government self-isolation may find this difficult, therefore widening the gap between legal requirements and compliance.

The importance of LEV inspection & testing

Many jobs across different industries involve work processes that create dust and fumes, which when breathed in can cause diseases, such as asthma, lung scarring and cancer.

Local exhaust ventilation (LEV) systems, also known as extraction or fume control, are used by businesses to control dust and fumes. Over time, the performance of LEV systems can decline, due to wear and tear or blockage. This is why regular inspection and testing – every 14 months to comply with COSHH – is necessary to ensure the systems are operating effectively and hazardous substances are kept controlled.

February 22, 2021

Workplace Pranks – No Joke

No Horseplay at Work

Rough, boisterous play or pranks in the workplace can have serious consequences. We look at key cases involving practical jokes at work and offer tips on how to prevent horseplay.
What is horse play?

Playing around, racing, grabbing, thoughtless vehicle operation, social pressure, harassment, and unauthorised contests are activities often encouraged by ‘practical jokers’ who pressure other colleagues to get involved. Playing jokes and having fun with colleagues can break up the day, provide stress-relief and make work more interesting, however horseplay can take this too far and put workers at risk.

Is it a health and safety issue?

Cases involving horseplay are common in industrial workplaces such as construction sites, and often where forklift trucks are used. But other cases have included pharmacies, hospitals and offices where pranks such as pulling out a chair has resulted in injury. Regardless of the sector, it is management’s responsibility to ensure all employees have access to a safe, respectful and harassment-free place to work.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 does not specifically discuss horseplay but does make requirements for employees regarding health and safety.
Section 7 of the Act requires employees to ‘take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself and of other persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions at work’.
Section 8 requires that no person shall intentionally interfere or misuse anything provided in the interests of health, safety, and welfare. These duties extend to avoiding silly or reckless behaviour, and those who fail to comply with these duties may make themselves liable to be prosecuted.
However, acts that are not directly related to work, and are more of a personal nature will not be within scope, such as an employee assaulting a supervisor because he believed the supervisor had stolen his wallet.

It is most likely that employees will be prosecuted under section 7 where they have shown a reckless disregard for health and safety, and such disregard has resulted in serious risk.

Who is responsible?

It is a common misconception among employees that health and safety is the sole responsibility of the employer and if an accident or incident were to occur due to horseplay, that resulted in the injury of another person, it would be the employer that would have full responsibility. However, pranks at work that injure or threaten to injure another person may be the subject for individual prosecution against the person responsible. The law of vicarious liability has been steadily expanding, but there are areas where responsibility is still unlikely to arise on the part of the employer.

Last month IOSH magazine reported on Chell v Tarmac [2020] EWHC 2613, the latest decision to demonstrate that it will be difficult for an employee to succeed where they have been the victim of a practical joke played on them by a colleague.

Employers cannot rule out that horseplay at work can result in injury and there are cases where they can be held liable for the actions of their employees. To help prevent this, they need to have appropriate policies and procedures in place relating to horseplay that informs employees of the consequences of inappropriate behaviour at work and set out clearly what is considered acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.

Tips to prevent horse play.

Employees should:
• not engage or participate in any type of unsafe behaviour or horseplay, initiate it, or get pressured into participating in it.
• follow all regulations and work rules to ensure the safety of individuals or other employees.
• ensure protective equipment is used properly and operating machinery is in good repair and does not present a hazard.
• report those behaving in an unprofessional or unsafe way to a supervisor or manager.

Managers should:
• provide a safe and healthy work environment for all employees.
• take all precautions necessary to protect the safety and health of employees.
• outline policies against workplace horseplay in your employee manual
• educate and train employees on workplace safety.
• be an example of professionalism and not engage in any inappropriate behaviour or horseplay.

February 15, 2021

Work vehicles and COVID measures

Work vehicles, like other workplaces are subject to the relevant home nation Government secure guidelines.

In England, employers should be following the hierarchy of risk control measures for vehicles and, in particular, should avoid the sharing of vehicles if possible.

Where vehicles must be shared, social distancing requirements should be applied where this is practicable.

Additional measures that the employer should consider noted in the guidance include:

keeping numbers to a minimum required to undertake work activities
use of physical screening and increased ventilation
sitting side-by-side rather than face-to-face
regular cleaning of the vehicle
use of fixed pairing systems
use of face coverings if employees wish.

Employers implementing a shift or pairing system such as noted should be keeping appropriate records of employees in pairings so as to assist the NHS Test and Trace service where necessary.

Any employee showing symptoms of Covid-19 should clearly not attend work and should arrange for a Covid-19 test to be undertaken.

The employer should at this stage be identifying any person who is deemed to be a close contact so as to support Test and Trace in identifying close contacts. The definition of a close contact includes:

a person who has had any face-to-face contact (within one metre) with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19, including contact within one metre for one minute or longer without face-to-face contact
a person who has been within 2 metres of someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 for more than 15 minutes
a person who has travelled in a small vehicle with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 or in a large vehicle or plane near someone who has tested positive for Covid-19

Where the employee does test positive for Covid-19, those employee contacts falling within the above definitions will be required to self-isolate in accordance with Government guidelines.

It is therefore highly likely, based upon the above definition, that the paired employee may have to self-isolate but ultimately this decision will be made by the Test and Trace service, potentially in consultation with the local public health service.

If you require further information, please contact us.

January 18, 2021

Driving for Better Business

Driving for Better Business (DfBB), the Government campaign group which encourages work-related road safety, has shared a list of eight things to think about in 2021 when managing drivers at work.

The latest lockdown means those who are managing drivers and vehicles will have to continue to adapt to the current situation and possibly the following scenarios.

Increased demands: Increased demands on home delivery networks carry a high risk of driver fatigue and companies have a duty to manage this, and not impose unrealistic work schedules.

Driver recruitment: Many firms providing essential services have had to recruit large numbers of drivers to keep up with demand and this may well continue into 2021.

Wellbeing: At a highly confusing and stressful time, sensitive management of people is essential for their continued welfare and to keep the business running efficiently.

Unused vehicles: With many working from home, company cars may be getting little if any use. Where possible, these vehicles need to be regularly started and moved, and when the restrictions start to lift, plans need to be in place to ensure a thorough pre-use check, including tyres and fluids, for example.

Scheduled maintenance and servicing: Ensuring full vehicle roadworthiness at all times, including during increased workloads, is essential.

Modal shifts: Many changes in working and vehicle use are likely to become more permanent. For example, business car mileage is likely to stay lower overall, with more working from home and the use of online meeting software.

Outsourced deliveries: Smaller businesses have been supplementing their reduced incomes by taking on outsourced delivery work from the large courier firms and utilising their own vans for local deliveries. Vehicle operators need to make sure this is managed properly.

Housekeeping: The start of the new year is an opportunity to review fleet housekeeping, ensuring policies, procedures and record keeping as are as effective as possible, and look for opportunities to improve.

If you have any questions, please contact us.

January 11, 2021

Employer’s Duty of Care

Employer’s duty of care

As an employer, you have a certain set of legal responsibilities for your staff. This includes ensuring their wellbeing and health and safety.

What is the duty of care?

An employer’s duty of care encompasses a number of duties. The first, and most obvious, is the main overarching duty to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all your employees, as far as is “reasonably practicable”, as laid out by the Health and Safety at Work, etc Act 1974.

This includes providing them with a safe and healthy work environment, preventing:

•illness

•injury

•mental ill health.

This duty of care extends to the health, safety and welfare of non-employees as well, eg contractors, visitors, and clients.

The law also requires you to carry out a risk assessment. This will address the hazards in the workplace that may cause harm.

Another duty covers consultation. Legally, you must consult employees or their representatives on the health and safety risks they will face as part of their role, as well as the control measures you are putting into place to keep them safe.

Why is the duty of care important?

First, a safe work environment is a productive work environment. If staff are ill or injured, they will need to take time off work. If employees have concerns regarding their safety or wellbeing, their attitude towards work will be less positive. Actively promoting employee wellbeing will increase employee engagement, increase productivity and significantly improve your retention rate.

Second, an unsafe workplace will suffer major reputational damage, particularly if an incident occurs. If an employee suffers from a work-related illness or accident, you could be held responsible. It may also lead to employment tribunals and even criminal prosecution.

Duty of care is a legal duty. Failure to plan adequately for the health and safety of employees will constitute a breach of this duty and can lead to visits from the Health and Safety Executive and significant fines.

An organisation’s obligations to employees

An employer’s duty of care includes health and safety. You must ensure that suitable safety standards are created with associated safe systems of work. These should cover employees who work from home.

Within this definition is a duty for employee mental wellbeing. That means safeguarding your workers as far as is reasonably practicable from harassment and stress.

Here are some ways you can keep your staff safe, both mentally and physically:

•provide adequate equipment required to complete tasks

•provide health and safety training

•protect staff from discrimination

•have clear lines of communication

•manage and address staff misconduct and grievances.

What is “reasonably practicable”?

An employer only has to comply with the duty of care in so far as it is reasonably practicable to do so. The test of what is reasonably practicable is not merely whether preventive measures were physically possible, or even financially possible. The accused employer must be able to show that it has weighed the degree of risk against how much it would cost the organisation — whether in time or money — to put in place adequate precautions. If it would cost a great deal to reduce the risk by only a fraction, you do not need to do so.

Examples of reasonably practicable actions include the following.

1.An employee informs their manager they’re suffering from pain in their wrists from their keyboard. As an employer, you can then provide them with a specialist keyboard, which can help prevent repetitive strain injury.

2.Another example would be to provide extra access points for those in your business with a disability. This will ensure they don’t struggle to exit and enter your premises and shows that you take their wellbeing seriously.