Health and safety regulations ‘costing jobs’

This is just another case where it is seen by some that Companies finances are far more important than peoples safety and well being. Far too many people lose their lives, suffer injuries and ill-health as a result of their working environment, we will not see a decline in these numbers until we as a nation (and hopfuly one day globaly) look to protect workers and put the safety of all before the profits of already fat cat companies.

Haulage companies have been warned about the importance of communicating effectively with staff after an accident where the victim had not been given enough information about how a load was secured.



Nicholas Holmes, 49, from Bradford, was delivering panel saws to the Saw Centre in Glasgow, on 16 August 2007 when one weighing 290 kilograms fell off the vehicle, hitting him on the head. Mr Holmes was left with permanent brain damage by the incident.



A HSE investigation found that Mr Holmes' employers, Joda Freight Limited, did not have a reliable system of communication in place to make sure their drivers were informed about the securing and stability of loads.



Nice one Lord Young

You are right Dave. Still the forgotten elephant in the room. Work-related road safety is not a sexy, headline grabbing subject so it is up to us to keep pushing for change.

Lord Young talks about 'minimal risks' probably the most dangerous thing people will do is 'Drive at work' appears there is no mention of this, or will he be saying the vehicle will no longer be classed as a workplace?. Watch this space!. Having spent 30 years literally picking the pieces from these crashes, with the implementation of the Management of Occupational Road Risks, we were just starting to see employers taking this matter in the same vain as other work related H&S. I fear more misery and frustration from injured workers and thier families . Good safety is Good business

'Could spend' rather than 'spends'? I worked for 10 years in health and safety enforcement followed by 4 years in the education section. I would have been delighted to find that the small businesses I worked with spent a day a year on health and safety paperwork. As for the 'minimal risks' in shops, offices and classrooms, they generated and continue to generate a stream of accidents and injuries both to employees and to members of the public. As for classrooms, anyone who deals with education will know there's a continuous stream of accidents to pupils and to staff and a high rate of absence due to ill health amongst employees. As any environmental health officer can testify, if risks were so minimal and common sense so universal you wouldn't encounter so many bad to appalling conditions and unsafe premises. Avoidable accidents wouldn't be commonplace. Nor would you need to servce notices or take enforcement action over simple things such as housekeeping or basic maintenance of premises and equipment.

Martin,

I really hope what you say comes true. I also see the compensation culture as being unhealthy, but it should always remain the case that if someone is injured or killed at work and it can proven there is someone at fault, then suitable compensation should be pursued.

If only Lord Young would also look at the scandalous under-funding of the HSE. If the UK had a properly funded enforcement authority, then perhaps employers would take the issue more seriously thus leading to a reduction in genuine and frivilous claims in equal measure.

'Lawyers 4 U' I can certainly live without. But where will all the ex-Bill actors find employment then?!

Lord Young's annoucement is well overdue.

It's not Health & Safety "culture" which causes the problem, it's "liability avoidance".

"Health & safety" is then the scapegoat, the lie that councils, quanogoes and corporations put on their press releases, to disguise the truth behind the excuse. Cost cutting exercise? Oops - that's politically unpalatable, let's just say it's necessary for "health & safety reasons."

And the lie always works because most British people are too stupid to spot the lie.

However, Lord Young has expressed only an ambition. What he needs to define - or somebody else needs to define - is to change the process of law. Not all evidence can be written, so why rely on it *exclusively* in a court? Why assume that the defendant is guilty until they can prove their innocence? Why not tear defendants apart for being amateurs? Why assume that a wronged member of the public can only ever be a victim, and never have contributory neglience/stupidity on their own part?

Another key change required in law is to counter-spike vexatious and frivolous compensation claims. The judge needs to have the power to say, "You know what, your claim has a slight technical merit, but frankly, you were too stupid for words to put yourself in a position where you got injured. People of even mediocre intelligence would have kept well out of the way. You shall leave this court empty-handed, you will pay the costs of your own lawyer(s) and x% of the defendant's lawyers."

That will kill off compensation culture more-or-less instantly. And in so doing, will give insurers some comfort - if not certainty - that they won't be asked to fund all sort of little tin-pot claims that cost millions to defend in court.

And then the practice of "Health & Safety" can return to what it should be: the continual re-designing of operations and processes to maximise safety of workers and the public.

The only claims that would then proceed to court are those which the Health & Safety Executive would want to take to court: major incidents involving death where there was amateurism, negligence, carelessness or a culture of recklessness.

Balance in the universe would then be restored. The losers? Oh, they'll be the lawyers who can't make money out of causing conflict. Pardon me while a shed a crocodile tear for them....

Well now and I thought I could have a good rant giving it large without drawing breath for puntuation or anyfing else like you know innit.........

Would be nice to keep some checks and balances as what the house of lords is s'posed to be just in case we get some over keen prime minister who finks he can rule the world like by starting with a republic of his own and cracking on from there and enough of a Police state as it is...

it would help if the law makers and people like lord young spoke to those who work in the sector reather 3rd party comment, many H&S companies mine included cut back all the time but major clients especially local authority want more not less,H&S is easy, people make it hard

here we go as totally predicted ,, a lord crawls from under a rock , cos the tories are back in , and the first thing they do,,, dress cutting bsck on safety by reviweing , hes not doing that at all , hes looking to chop it back so it allows him and the rest oof the , wel , u can call them lords , i and thousands of others , call them long established parasites,
its so predictable every one mkust be blind to what going to be happening, do u really believe that things will get better when u got a smug looking past hid sell by date fool all of a sudden crawling from no where to basically hand out a total free run to all businesses and the end result being that workers are forced to work in dangerous conditions cos thats whats going to be happening,, lord whatever ur name is ,, back off and u tell the rest ogf you maggots to do the same,,,, and if theres cut backs to be made u rats ,,, lets start with your tax free allowances , as for busniess men , one messege ,, health ans safety is there for a reason ,,, fact ,, u follow then ior u get fined ,, and if u dont shell out money forthat provision ,, the go bankrupt , its as simpl as that ,, messege to you lord ,, im full of myself young ,,, leave health and safety alone ,,, u want to make yourself ueless instead of your false existence and pretence lok at the CITB and this gimmicky CRD scheme they are making millions from and u start with that pathetiv basic card ,, my names ian gilbert young i trust me i would love to meet a total fool like you , and the rest of you walking around telling people whats good for us , we know whats good for us , getting ride of the house of lords ,,, one man did ,, it went ,, for gods sake go , but some how everyone of you have crwaled and slimed ur way back lord heres one man that u wont here say u ,, ur nothing noe back off and look at your kind ,, u know the tax evasions and the lord that owes millions in taxes , etc etc etc ,, leave health and safety alone , you are not wanted , not needed ,, not wanted ,, and nither is some windgeing moaning businesman or company cos they too stupid to make a profit ,,, try looking at the products they produce ,, that might be the reason ,, sub standard goods at top dollor prices ,, thats the facts its nithing to do with health anbd safety is goods being sold ,,