Health & Safety at Work

John KnightRingrose Law

• Me• Your Business• Cost to Business• The Law• Heinrich Pyramid• Bradley Curve• Real Life (and a few questions)

• Ways to help• …and to finish

Health & Safety at Work - Agenda

• John Knight• Solicitor (since 1995) and Partner• Specialising in Personal Injury & Clinical

Negligence since 1993• Worked at national legal firms in Leeds &

Manchester• Been at Ringrose Law since 2003• I also sit on the firms Strategic and Business

Development Boards (for my sins!)• Ringrose Law has 5 offices across Lincolnshire

and now a new office in Newark

Your Business and Health & Safety• Relevant to anyone who employs anyone.• We are more heavily regulated now than ever before.• Its down to you to be compliant – you cannot use

ignorance as a defence to claims.• If you change your behaviour, compliance is easier

than you think.• MUST have insurance.• Improve your knowledge, and your systems & reduce

your costs.• Change your behaviour & reduce injuries/claims.

Cost to Business• Key annual figures 2009/10• 1.3 million people who worked during the last year were suffering

from an illness (long standing as well as new cases) they believed was caused or made worse by their current or past work. 555 000 of these were new cases.

• 152 workers were killed at work, a rate of 0.5 per 100 000 workers.• 121 430 other injuries to employees were reported under RIDDOR,

a rate of 473 per 100 000 employees.• 233 000 reportable injuries occurred, according to the Labour Force

Survey, a rate of 840 per 100 000 workers.• 28.5 million days were lost overall (1.2 days per worker), 23.4

million due to work-related ill health and 5.1 million due to workplace injury.

• Statistical Data from HSE https://handson.hse.gov.uk/hse/public/home.aspx

The Law Agriculture (Safety, Health and Welfare Provisions) Act 1956 (c 49) 1956 Agriculture[4]

Celluloid and Cinematograph Film Act 1922 (c 35) 1922 Fire and explosion[5]

Employment Medical Advisory Service Act 1972 (c 28) 1972 Health services[6]

Employment of Women, Young Persons, and Children Act 1920 (c 65)

1920 Workers[7]

Environment and Safety Information Act 1988 (c. 30) [8] 1988 Chemicals[9]

Explosives Act 1875 (c 17) 1875 Explosives[10]

Factories Act 1961 (c 34) 1961 Factories[11]

Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (c 37) 1974 Businesses[12]

The Health and Safety Offences Act 2008 [13] 2008 Enforcement[14]

Mineral Workings Offshore Installations Act 1971 1971 Mining[15]

Mines and Quarries (Tips) Act 1969 (c 10) 1969 Mining[16]

Mines and Quarries Act 1954 (c 70) 1954 Mining[17]

Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963 (c 41) 1963 Businesses[18]

Offshore Safety Act 1992 (c 15) [19] 1992 Offshore[20]

Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928 (c 32) 1928 Offshore[21]

Petroleum (Transfer of Licences) Act 1936 (c 27) 1936 Offshore[22]

Petroleum Act 1987 (c 12) 1987 Offshore[23]

More Law!

•Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 – Risk

•Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 - Manual handling

•Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 – PPE

•Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 – PUWER

•Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 – General

•Work at Height Regulations 2005 - Falls from height

•Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 – Construction

•Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999 – COMAH

…and a bit more Law!• Common Law• Duty of Care• Breach of Duty• Causation• Statutory Law• Acts and Statutory InstrumentsYou MUST comply with both!

Heinrich Pyramid• 1 death for every 300,000

workers• Don’t concentrate on

trying to stop the 1 death• Ensure that all your

300,000 employees adopt safe behaviour and you should prevent the 1 death.

• Near misses should always be reported.

• Ask colleagues to raise problems with other employees.

Bradley Curve

Real Life• The Boy & the Vending Machine• The Man & the Potato Processor• The Postman & the Bike• The Delivery Guy & the Trip• The Captain & the Lake• The Teacher & the Squashed Potato

Ways to Help • Find the right person to deal with H&S.• Ensure that they are properly trained and that they have a

plan to implement systems or improvements.• When you have a plan – stick to it!• Identify the jobs that have risk attached to them.• Do a written Risk Assessment – at regular intervals.• Deal with any risks identified in the process.• Train regularly and obtain feedback from people doing the

job.• Keep records of everything you do – you’ll need them at some

stage!• Finally - Save money by speaking to and working with your

Insurer.

….and to finish!

Contact Details• Land Line: 01522 814700• Email: john.knight@ringroselaw.co.uk• Website: www.ringroselaw.co.uk• Mobile: 0787 2033769• Grantham Office: 4 St Peters Hill, Grantham,

Lincolnshire, NG31 6QD • Grantham Telephone: 01476 590200