New research has found that a quarter of workers have never participated in a full fire evacuation of their workplace, despite government guidelines suggesting full drills be undertaken at least once a year. The study of over 2,000 adults by insurer RSA also found that one in 20 UK workers admitted their workplace had no marked fire exits at all.… read more →
The House of Lords has redefined the terms of the Disability Discrimination Act as a result of a decade-long employment case, it has been reported. Previously the law stated that an employer only had to make reasonable adjustments if the chance of recurrence of a condition was “more probable than not”. This definition has now been altered so employers must… read more →
Scottish companies found guilty of causing workplace deaths will no longer be able to avoid fines by ‘claiming poverty’, under a proposed new Bill amendment in Scotland. A decision by the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee to accept an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill could mean that Courts in the country will soon be able to order… read more →
Supermarket giant Tesco has been fined £95,000 and ordered to pay over £24,000 in costs after pleading guilty to five breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO). London Fire Brigade, prosecuting, said fire fighters were called to a fire at Tesco’s Colney Hatch store in Barnet on 14 October 2007. When they arrived found the premises locked… read more →
A director of a fuel tank manufacturing business has been banned from directing any company for five years after breaching a raft of health and safety regulations. Brian Nixon of Evesham, Worcestershire, and managing director of Transtore (UK) Ltd was also fined £17,000. Workers at Transtore (UK) Ltd in Stratford-upon-Avon were exposed to lead and other harmful chemicals while paint… read more →
A Lancashire-based construction company has been fined for a series of safety breaches, including failing to fence off building sites from the public and failing to provide adequate welfare facilities for their workers. The prosecution follows an unannounced visit by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to the site run by Paddle Ltd – often known as Paddle Homes and… read more →
A director of a manufacturing company has been fined for health and safety breaches after an employee fell through a roof at a site in Cradley Heath. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Adam Stephen Walker, director of Steven Walker and Sons Ltd, after Neil Tomkins suffered extensive bruising to his lower back after falling through a skylight onto… read more →
A sole trader who erects farms buildings has today (21/04/10) been fined £15,000 after his employee broke both his legs when he fell three metres from the roof of an Aberdeenshire farm building. Mr Robert Peter Mackie, 36, from the Turriff area, who was trading as RDM Engineering at the time of the incident was prosecuted after the incident. He… read more →
A Sheffield landlord who failed to ensure gas appliances at a property he rented out were safe and fit for purpose was today prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Mohammed Ikram, of Shiregreen Terrace, Shiregreen, exposed a tenant living on Morrison Avenue, Maltby, to the potential risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. He did not have the gas fire,… read more →
A plant hire company has been fined £200,000 for health and safety failings that lead to an employee falling five metres to his death. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) showed that the company failed to follow its own health and safety guidelines for work at height. HSE prosecuted Ashtead Plant Hire Co Ltd trading as APlant… read more →
