Health and Safety myths uncovered

Bosses across the country are unintentionally flouting basic laws designed to keep employees safe and well at work due to commonly held misconceptions over their safety responsibilities.

Croner, one of the leading health and safety advisors in the UK, reveals the most common safety slip-ups which could be endangering staff and putting employers at risk of prosecution and hefty fines.

Failure to manage stress, cutting corners to save money on safety, and not reporting accidents are just a few of the most common errors.

Trevor Davies, health and safety expert at Croner says: Through working closely with businesses to design and implement health and safety policies, weíve come across the same slip-ups time and time again. Employers are failing to comply with the law due to what are essentially mythical beliefs over their responsibilities.

But Davies says thereís no room for complacency when it comes to safety and is separating fact from fiction in a few of the most common health and safety myths:

Fiction: Health & safety is just common sense

Fact: Common sense is usually enough to keep us relatively safe in our day-to-day lives, but the hazards we face at work can be far trickier and the consequences more severe. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to undertake ísuitable and sufficientí assessments of the risks to the health and safety of employees whilst at work. A recent prosecution under these regulations occurred to a Coventry-based car parts manufacturer. An employee was crushed to death by steel containers because the company did not carry out sufficient risk assessments, resulting in a total fine of 142,000.

Fiction: Complying with health & safety law costs employers money

Fact: There is a strong argument that investing in health and safety will actually save money in the long run. There are around 200 work-related deaths, over 150,000 workers injured and 2.3 million cases of work-related ill health resulting in 40 million working days lost each year on average in the UK1. The costs associated with ill health and accidents, such as sick pay, fines, legal costs, and repairs, can be astronomical. Prospective clients are increasingly appointing only health and safety conscious contractors, a quality which also appeals to suppliers and insurers.

Fiction: Employers cannot be prosecuted for work-related stress

Fact: Stress is considered a hazard, i.e. something that can cause harm. Failure to manage stress appropriately is a breach of the employerís responsibility under the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to reasonably ensure the mental and physical health and safety of employees. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 also require employers to assess the risk of stress-related ill health arising from work activities. Psychological as well as physical capabilities must be assessed in relation to tasks, with suitable training provided.

The Health and Safety Executive takes stress very seriously and now regularly asks companies for a copy of their written stress risk assessment.

Fiction: Health & safety law prohibits people working alone

Fact: Working alone is acceptable as long as special arrangements have been made for safety in relation to the types of hazard involved. This may include emergency first aid arrangements or assessing the danger associated with tasks. Precautions may include emergency panic buttons or two-way radios. As long as a safe system of work is implemented, there is no reason why lone working would be unacceptable.

Fiction: Health & safety compliance is solely the employerís responsibility

Fact: Employers have a íduty of careí to all employees to take reasonable action to keep them safe, well and comfortable. Employees also have a duty to work safely and co-operate with health and safety procedures. Employers must ensure employees are clearly informed of these responsibilities.

Fiction: Itís easier for employers not to report accidents

Fact: Under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995, employers have a legal duty to report certain accidents. This includes all major injuries e.g. fractures, amputations or dislocations or any other injury which leads to an incapacity to work for more than three days. Failure to do so is a criminal offence for which employers could be fined up to 20,000. Information gathered from accident reports is essential as it helps enforcing authorities to advise on preventative action.

Fiction: The workplace canít exceed a legal maximum temperature

Fact: The legal minimum temperature for most workplaces is 16oC, but there is no legally enforced maximum. However, employers have a responsibility for employeesí welfare and íthermal comfortí in the workplace, which should be a íreasonably comfortable temperatureí, considering the level of physical activity.

Fiction: The employer must provide personal protective equipment (PPE), but the employee can choose not to use it

Fact: Employers are responsible for the safety of their employees and others and, under The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992, they must enforce the use of and properly maintain PPE. Employees cannot íopt outí of using PPE and employers can be held responsible should injury occur through failure to enforce its use.

1Figures taken from