A stonemasonry firm has received a fine of almost £20,000 for failing to protect workers from silica dust, as the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) issued new advice for stone worktop installers amid continued calls for engineered stone to be banned over its links to silicosis.
By Kerry Reals on 10 January 2025
Great Britain’s national health and safety regulator turned 50 years old on 1 January, half a century after its official launch on the first day of 1975.
By Kerry Reals on 03 January 2025
The UK Government has announced a number of planned legislative and related measures aimed at making work more flexible, family-friendly and secure, but forward-thinking employers can get started now by taking steps to ensure a good work-life balance and provide ‘good’ work that supports wellbeing, morale and fair conditions.
By Amy Butterworth, Timewise on 02 December 2024
Reforms aimed at reducing unemployment and tackling economic inactivity will focus on helping people with long-term health conditions return to work, preventing health conditions from developing in the first place and expanding access to mental health support, the UK Government has announced in a new white paper.
By Kerry Reals on 26 November 2024
According to Health and Safety Executive (HSE) statistics, 138 workers were killed in work-related accidents in 2023/24, with 25 of those fatalities involving being struck by a moving vehicle in the workplace – a 25 per cent increase on the same figure for 2022/23.
By Matthew Sulley, Pinsent Masons on 12 November 2024
The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) is calling for a universal right to a healthy workplace and the introduction of a minimum level of support that employers should provide to improve employees’ health and wellbeing, after finding that almost half of UK workers lack access to routine health checks at work.
By Kerry Reals on 21 October 2024
Millions of workers will see their rights strengthened in areas such as unfair dismissal, zero-hours contracts, statutory sick pay and parental leave, under reforms announced by the Government in its Employment Rights Bill.
By Kerry Reals on 10 October 2024
Health and safety law contains detailed rules to regulate the safety of the workforce, across all workplaces, and for specific higher risk activities and industries. These are well enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which has been very successful in driving down the number of fatalities and injuries sustained at work in the UK. The same is not true when it comes to mental health and wellbeing.
By Katherine Metcalfe, Pinsent Masons on 03 October 2024
The newly-elected Labour administration is now more than three months into its tenure. And we know the to-do list of any incoming government is always vast. However, it is imperative within these priorities that there is a clear strategy to support employee mental health.
By Michael Hough, Mental Health Foundation on 30 September 2024
The new UK Government faces major hurdles on a number of fronts – not least the £22 billion ‘black hole’, which leaves little headroom for the Chancellor in her forthcoming Budget.
By Mike Robinson FCA, British Safety Council on 26 September 2024
