There were 144 workplace fatalities in the UK in 2017/18. This number has been relatively static over the past 5 years. Additionally, around 500 people are killed every year while ‘driving for work reasons’. This excludes people commuting to and from work (more of that later). The UK and Ireland are the only two EU countries who do not report … Read More
The Contractor Management Challenge for Power Utilities
As we’ve discussed before, the UK power utilities sector is entering a period of disruption brought on by a combination of forces including skills shortages and the availability of ‘free’ energy to the consumer afforded by renewables. Particularly for the asset-heavy side of the sector, requiring significant on-going investment, this disruption will create a tough investment environment, one which will … Read More
The New Trend in Health and Safety: Enhanced Contractor Oversight and Management
There’s a trend in the health and safety industry that is gaining traction and looks set to become the new norm – enhanced health and safety oversight of contractors. Of course, guidance from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) states that companies and the contractors they employ both have responsibility for health and safety. A key reason for this approach, … Read More
UK Health and Safety Statistics – The Road to Nowhere?
Earlier this month we continued our examination of UK worker fatality rates in an attempt to understand how best to break through the statistical plateau we’re now experiencing of 0.4-0.5 fatalities per 100,000 workers annually. There were three main points made: Comparing statistics between countries (even standardised across the EU) is pretty meaningless. The HSE segmentation of fatalities by [the … Read More
Is the Health & Safety Executive Keeping Pace with Modern Working Practices?
The work environment is becoming much more complicated. At its simplest, companies have employees who all work at a company facility. This is the easiest structure to regulate and monitor when it comes to all aspects of employment law, including health and safety. The modern workplace is much more complicated than this, however. The people who work for companies today … Read More
Are UK Health and Safety Statistics Leading to Complacency?
We’ve seen a plateauing in UK worker fatality rates (as reported by the HSE) over the past 4 to 5 years. This plateau at, or just under, 0.5 fatalities per 100,000 workers follows a long term downward trend and is to be applauded. Or, is it? Of course, we would all agree that any fatality is one too many and … Read More
UK Skill Shortages – Not Just a Hiring Problem
It seems odd that the UK, one of the major economies of the world and with record numbers of students entering university, should be suffering from a shortage of skilled workers. But that’s exactly where we are. And it’s getting worse. The UK Commission for Employment and Skills ‘Employer Skills Survey 2017’ highlighted the following: in 2017, 20% of establishments … Read More
Contractor Management – A Compelling Imperative for Change
Everyone understands the benefits of using contractors in a business: More flexibility as expertise can be provided when and where needed Easier to scale the workforce up or down as the business requires Enables the business to react quickly to new projects Business can “plug and play” workers into projects (i.e. there is no training required to get people up … Read More
The Power Utilities Death Spiral and What it Means for Health and Safety
Normally business investments are made in a climate of growth with some level of stability and predictability. But, what happens when a sector is faced with massive change and an existing business model that is trending towards zero, e.g. “the utility death spiral”? That was the topic of a recent research report by Banyard Solutions, “UK Utilities: Yes, Investment is … Read More
Taking Action to Prevent Exposure to Asbestos
In our review of UK health and safety in 2018 we highlighted the increased profile that mental health has seen in the workplace and the importance to both the employee and the business of good employee mental health. On the flip side, little has fundamentally changed in the treatment of asbestos in our public buildings. Darren Payne of Rhodor the … Read More
Health and Safety Year in Review 2018
Whatever industry you work in, 2018 was a year like no other. This was primarily because of Brexit and the uncertainty across all sectors about how it will impact trading and business conditions. That said, there are other things that made 2018 unique including the increasing impact technology is having on workplace health and safety and the noticeable shift in … Read More
Merry Christmas – Be Safe!
The week before Christmas sees most of us winding down with a spirit of goodwill in the office and, hopefully, an extra spring in our step. Of course, many will be ramping up not down and we send our thanks to all those who will be working hard over the Christmas period. This marks the end of the second year … Read More
