Category Archives: Health and Safety

Infogram correct as of 2pm 5/3/2020

At the moment, the number of cases in the UK is minimal. But we’ve been warned to expect further cases. And with no sign of a vaccine just yet, it makes sense for employers to take precautions.

Coronavirus advice for employers

Employers across the country have questions in relation to the Coronavirus. Here are some of the more common ones, with answers helpfully provided:

Q: Should I be sending employees home?

A: It depends on the circumstances. There’s no need to fly into a blind panic and send everyone home just yet. But, if a member of staff has returned from one of the affected areas, you can reasonably ask them to stay at home. Particularly if they’re displaying symptoms.

There are certain regions you need to be concerned about:

Hubei province in China:
Any employee returning from this region should automatically self-isolate, even if they’re not showing symptoms. So, if you know an employee has been here and they turn up to work—send them home.

Iran, lockdown areas in northern Italy, or special care zones in South Korea:
Employees should automatically self-isolate if they’ve returned from these areas after 19th Feb. Same advice as above.

Other parts of mainland China or South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, or Thailand:
If an employee has been in one of these regions and returned since 19th February, they should be fine to come into work. Provided they aren’t showing symptoms. If they do start to show them, even if they’re mild, you should send them home.

Other parts of northern Italy (anywhere north of Pisa, Florence and Rimini, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, or Vietnam:
Same advice as above. They’re fine to come into work so long as they’re not displaying symptoms, but if they do, send them home.

Q: What do I do if someone refuses to come into work?

A: Some people are legitimately concerned about their health. If there’s a heightened risk of catching the virus in your workplace, some employees may refuse to come in. If they do you should listen to their concerns and offer reassurance.

You should consider offering a temporary flexible working arrangement, including homeworking if possible. Or, you could allow them to take some time off as holiday or unpaid leave.

Forcing an employee to come into work against their will is likely to get messy fast, so try to be as considerate and flexible as possible.

Q: Do I have to pay employees who are self-isolating?

A: The other issue that comes with self-isolating is pay. UK Health Secretary, Matt Hancock has advised that employees who are told to self-isolate are entitled to sick leave but not necessarily sick pay. Acas has re-affirmed this, pointing out that there’s no legal obligation to pay.

However, Acas have also outlined that it’s good practice to pay employees if they’re self-isolating.

So what should you do? Generally, the consensus is to pay employees if they’re self-isolating.

If you send an employee home despite them not showing symptoms, you’re not following government guidance. Therefore, you should pay the employee in full to avoid any potential risks. If the employee is self-isolating based on government guidance then it’s good practice to provide sick pay through usual procedures at least, if not full pay.

Q: Do I have to pay employees who have Coronavirus?

A: If an employee is legitimately sick with the virus, then they qualify for at least statutory sick pay (SSP). If their contract states that they are provided more, then they will receive that.

Q: What should I do if Coronavirus becomes more widespread?

A: Acas has also provided guidance for what you should do if the virus spreads more widely across the UK. You should:

• Ensure staff details are up to date
• Ensure emergency contact details are up to date
• Refresh managers on policies & procedures, in particular those relating to sickness absense
• Implement NHS advice on hygiene in the workplace, including hand-washing guidance and the provision of soap and water
• Provide hand sanitisers and tissues to staff an encourage usage of them.
• It’s also worth considering whether you might need to close your workplace. This includes considering whether home working is possible, and maintaining communication with staff.

Keep your eye on the news and keep up to date with the resources online.

Resources
The main resources on the helpline are:

The FCO for travel advice:

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/china

NHS Choices

https://www.nhs.uk/

WHO World Health Organisation

https://www.who.int/

Read past blogs regarding the virus.

What are the symptoms?

The infection starts with a fever, followed by a dry cough. After a week, it leads to shortness of breath and some people require hospital treatment. If you have any of these symptoms it does not mean that you have coronavirus. Most people (about 80%) who contract the disease recover without needing special treatment.

If you have any of the above symptoms, isolate yourself and dial 111, they will provide you with further instructions. Please then contact your manager.

Please be aware it may also be possible to become infected by touching a contaminated surface or object and then touching your nose or mouth, so good hygiene practices can really help.

Handwashing

This is one of the most recommended and effective defences. Health professionals recommend humming ‘Happy Birthday’ as this is the suggested length of time for washing our hands!

Meeting and greeting!

Some of you may have already been to meetings, where people aren’t shaking hands and, purely as a precautionary measure, we’d recommend you do the same, if it feels appropriate and are comfortable to do so.  Clients and colleagues will understand if you give them a friendly wave instead!

Travel and holidays

Be aware if anyone is going on holiday to a high-risk country. Check the Government advice pages to make sure that the travel does not pose any health risk.

Contact us if you require further information.

In the months leading up to March 2020, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is carrying out proactive inspections in businesses where welding takes place to check that risks are being appropriately managed, and has offered some advice on interim arrangements for businesses.

Eight hundred proactive HSE inspections are planned on metal fabrication businesses during the months leading up to March 2020.

Half of those inspections will take place in February 2020 and the HSE has estimated that the initiative will hit 1 in 15 fabrication premises.

Welding fume is one of the HSE’s priority health targets as are metal working fluid mists.

The HSE is emphasising that all welding fume can cause lung cancer, and potentially kidney cancer, so employers must put controls in place.

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) regime provides the legal basis to help ensure exposure to any welding fume released is adequately controlled.

The HSE has published revised COSHH guidance, along with updated web pages on how to manage exposure to welding fume.

The HSE advises employers to carry out a full risk assessment before anyone starts welding work and notes that the Breathe Freely in Manufacturing Welding Fume Control Selector Tool can help identify the required controls.

Exposure to welding fume can be harmful so HSE inspectors will expect businesses to be able to demonstrate that they are properly protecting workers’ health.

However, the HSE says it recognises the changes might mean businesses need to plan for buying and implementing equipment if they don’t already have it in place.

The HSE recently said, “If you have already ordered new local exhaust ventilation (LEV) equipment but are waiting for it to be installed, then make sure you have an interim plan in place to minimise exposure, such as the provision of suitable respiratory protective equipment (RPE)”.

Contact us if you require guidance.

The HSE inspect businesses that are working in high-risk industries. So, if your organisation is high risk and has not had a visit for a while, don’t be surprised if an HSE inspector wants to look around. This may be a random inspection but is more likely to be due to a previous incident, an issue raised by a worker, or a report of a serious injury on site.

What is the inspector looking for?

The inspectors want to check that employers are keeping their staff, customers and members of the public safe. They also review if work activities are being carried out in line with statutory requirements. The inspector will ask about the health and safety issues affecting the business and what is being done to reduce risk. They may want to look around the site and inspect aspects of work being done, too. If they are investigating an incident, the inspector will want you to describe what happened and what processes you had in place. They’ll look at your accident investigation report and any CCTV or photographs that may have been taken. They’ll also speak to your staff or read their witness statements.

What will happen next?

Immediately after the visit, the inspector might offer the organisation written or verbal advice on how to improve safety at work. Or they could issue a notification of contravention, which means that there has been a breach of health and safety law. The inspector may then issue an improvement notice. This gives the organisation at least 21 days to correct the issue.
For more serious offences, an inspector may issue a prohibition notice. This forces the organisation to stop any activities deemed dangerous immediately. The inspector can also seize items, substances and equipment as evidence.

Finally, the inspector can prosecute the organisation and/or its directors. This could lead to a court appearance, a fine or even a prison sentence.

How much will an inspection cost?

If the inspector issues a notice of contravention, the organisation will have to pay the HSE’s expenses for the investigation. This is called a fee for intervention (FFI). FFI is an hourly charge of £154. FFI also applies if the HSE issues a notice of improvement or prohibition.

The fines for prosecution depend on the offence committed. For example, in 2018 the average fine for breaches of the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999 was £846,250.

Of course, the total impact on a business can be much greater. An improvement notice can force an organisation to make high-cost changes in a short space of time. A prohibition notice can shut the business down or lead to disqualification of being a director for a set period of time.

Even minor breaches have lasting damage. The HSE will register an enforcement notice against the business for 10 years. This can make it hard to get work with new clients and almost impossible to bid for public sector contracts.

How can I protect my business?

As always, prevention is better than the cure. Ensure that you are aware of the legal requirements on your business and that you have procedures for improving, monitoring and reviewing your compliance status.

Contact us if you wish to discuss this topic further.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is provided by employers so employees can carry out their job. There are responsibilities that employees must take responsibility for when dealing with PPE. See previous blog Link. 

The PPE Regulations stipulate that companies are unable to charge for PPE (under section 9 of the Health & Safety at work Act 1974 – see ACOP link below).

28 Under section 9 of the HSAW Act, no charge can be made to the worker for the provision of PPE which is used only at work. Section 9 of the HSAW Act states:

‘No employer shall levy or permit to be levied on any employee of his any charge in respect of anything done or provided in pursuance of any specific requirement of the relevant statutory provisions’. Section 9 applies to these Regulations because they impose a ‘specific requirement’, for example to provide PPE. It also relates to all charges including returnable deposits. An employer cannot ask for money to be paid to them by an employee for the provision of PPE whether returnable or otherwise.’

29 If employment has been terminated and the employee keeps the PPE without the employer’s permission, then provided it has been stipulated in the contract of employment, the employer may be able to deduct the cost of replacement from any wages owed.

From guidance, levy’s or deposits are not be appropriate, so therefore we would deter this course of action.

If PPE is constantly being asked for as it is defective, consider discussing defective wear with the supplier or the manufacturer. Request a credit or replacement FOC as they are not fit for purpose under Trading Standards.

If employees are asking for frequent replacement of PPE, consider looking to discreetly mark the item with UV marker pen with a serial number much the same as asset tags on company property to check that the item presented for replacement are those that were recently issued.

If there are repeat offenders this would need to go down the HR disciplinary route.

ACOP – L25 PPE ACoP 2005

Contact us should you wish to discuss this topic.