Our health and safety section covers general health and safety
within a low-risk environment. Read our guides to ensure you keep
within the law and follow best practice.
Health and safety - legal minimum requirements
Health and safety - employee responsibilities
Risk assessments
Health and safety representatives
Step by step health and safety meetings
Accident reporting and records
Alcohol and drug abuse in the workplace
Asbestos
Blood-borne viruses
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH)
The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act
Disabled workers - health and safety considerations
Review of health and safety legislation: a review of health and safety
law, the Lofstedt review, has now been published and has recommended that
self-employed people carrying out low-risk work should be exempt from health
and safety regulations, while businesses should have the right to appeal to a
new panel over decisions that affect them. The review also recommended a
review of HSE approved codes of practice to make them more understandable and
a 'consolidation' of regulations (there are over 200 health and safety regulations
- the Coalition Government hopes to halve this number in the next three years).
Other proposals include the removal of strict liability for employers in some
regulations and for the HSE to be given more powers over local authority
inspections to ensure a consistent approach.
See: legal minimum requirements
Statistics: the HSE has reported a significant increase in the
number of workplace fatalities in the UK over the past year - 171 deaths at work
in 2010-11, compared to 147 in the previous year. Industries which saw a rise in
fatal accidents included the construction, manufacturing and service industries.
Stress: This year's CIPD Absence Management survey reveals that
stress is now the main cause of long-term sickness absence for both manual and
non-manual workers.
See: stress
for helpline advice and support.
