June

French police investigate Madonna stage roof collapse

Police in Marseille have launched a manslaughter investigation into the collapse of a stage roof this week that killed two people during preparations for a Madonna concert.

Detectives hope to interview more than 50 witnesses to the accident, in which two technicians – a 23-year-old Briton and a 53-year-old Frenchmen – died and up to 30 others were injured.

Doctors at Marseille's main hospital were unable to save Charles Prow, from Headingley, Leeds, medical sources said. One other casualty remained in intensive care.

Police are conducting a detailed examination of the 60 tonnes of collapsed girders and cables that is all that remains of the "giant Meccano" stage set that was being prepared at the south French city's 60,000-seat Vélodrome stadium, which is home to Olympique Marseille.

Video footage being studied by investigators apparently shows the roof "oscillating" before part of it collapsed on to a crane, which then fell on the main stage. The roof, which was two-thirds complete, "started shaking and collapsing" gradually, a Marseille city councillor, Maurice Di Nocera, told French radio.

The concert was cancelled and Madonna, who was performing in Udine, Italy, when she heard the news, issued a statement saying she was "devastated". The concert was part of a second European leg of Madonna's Sticky and Sweet tour aimed, the star's website said, at "hitting the cities she didn't get a chance to in 2008".

Madonna concluded the South American leg of her world tour in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in December. Even before this summer's European dates, Sticky and Sweet had become the biggest-selling tour by a solo artist – taking £193m worldwide by the end of last year, according to the music trade publication Pollstar.

The tour has sparked controversy in Poland because its Warsaw stage is on 15 August, the Catholic holiday celebrating the heavenly assumption of the Virgin Mary. Poland's ombudsman, Janusz Kochanowski, has asked city officials to explain why Madonna would be allowed to perform on a date "bound to provoke and offend".

Exposing the myths of outside events

Anyone looking to organise outdoor events this summer should not feel constricted by overzealous health and safety rules, as many of the regulations publicised in the press are myths, according to one organisation.

Judith Hackett, chair of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), insists that there is some misleading information about the laws people have to adhere to, leading to confusion surrounding the staging of events.

"All that is needed is sensible and proportionate preparation, not excessive paperwork and precautions," she explains.

Ms Hackett adds that health and safety is often blamed for the cancellation of festivities, when in fact fear of litigation or organisation costs are behind the decision.

She directs events managers to the HSE website, where there is a five-step plan for carrying out simple risk assessments.

U2's monster carbon footprint

U2 have been criticised for the carbon footprint created by their mammoth world tour. The 100-date, 18-month odyssey, which kicked off last week, will see the multi-millionaires emit up to 65,000 tonnes of CO2, which would be equivalent to the band flying from Earth to the planet Mars - and back.

The £90m U2360 tour also features three 390-tonne stages criss-crossing the globe, along with 200 crew and backstage staff. Their colossal emissions are the equivalent of leaving a standard 100-watt light bulb on for 159,000 years, according to estimates from researchers at the website Carbonfootprint.com.

The energy consumption comes despite Bono saying in Tokyo in May 2008: "My prayer is that we become better in looking after our planet."

Old HSE law poster not illegal, say HSE

The HSE is warning businesses across Britain not to be duped into buying unnecessary and overpriced copies of its health and safety law poster. The poster is a fixture of every workplace in Britain and employers have a legal duty to display the poster in a prominent position or provide each worker with a copy of a Law pocket card. Both outline employer and worker responsibilities and where workers can seek advice. 

The HSE has heard reports of some businesses receiving the misleading information that the old poster must be replaced immediately and that the new law poster should be displayed on every notice board within the business’ premises. This is incorrect, says the HSE, and employers could be led to believe that they are not meeting their legal requirements.

Vinny Kenny, from HSE said: "The information that is being sent out by some companies may be misleading under consumer protection legislation and we want to put a stop to it.

"If businesses receive any promotions relating to the Law poster or pocket card and are in any doubt about their authenticity they should contact HSE before parting with their money."

New versions of the health and safety law poster and an accompanying pocket card were launched in April and provide clearer information for workers about their right to have their health and safety properly protected.

However, the Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations allow businesses five years to switch to the new poster and pocket cards – they must be replaced by no later than 5 April 2014. Employers who choose to display the old poster after 6 April 2009 must make sure it is legible and keep the addresses of the enforcing authority and the employment medical advisory service up to date.

HSE warn over plant maintenance

The HSE has warned of the dangers of not maintaining plant equipment after the death of a telescopic forklift truck driver, who was crushed between the descending arm and side of his vehicle.

The warning follows the prosecution of two companies in relation to the incident at the Davyhulme Waste Water Treatment Works on 18 September 2003. MB Plastics Ltd and Birse Integrated Solutions Ltd were sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on Minshull Street on Tuesday 30 June.

The deceased man’s employer, MB Plastics Ltd, pleaded guilty to an offence under health and safety legislation. The company was fined £150,000 and ordered to pay costs of £24,323.

The principal contractor for the project, Birse Water Ltd, which is now trading as Birse Integrated Solutions Ltd also pleaded guilty. It was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay costs of £41,073.

The court heard the vehicle’s off-side cab window normally acted as a guard, but had been damaged during a lifting operation five weeks before the fatality. At the time of the incident, the cab window was entirely missing.

Judge Peter Lakin said, although there were no witnesses to the incident, the most likely explanation is that the deceased man leant out of the cab window and came into contact with the joystick, bringing the arm of the forklift truck down onto him.

MB Plastics Ltd was charged with failing to ensure the safety of employees, under Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, while involved in operating and working with, or in the vicinity of, a telescopic forklift truck.

Birse was charged with failing to ensure the safety of people not in its employment, under Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The court found that Birse had failed to ensure that MB Plastics Ltd prepared suitable and sufficient risk assessments in relation to its telescopic forklift truck operations. It also found that Birse had failed to adequately monitor MB Plastics Ltd and, as a result, had failed to identify the broken window and ensure it was replaced.

HSE Inspector Warren Pennington said: "This incident would have been entirely avoidable if the proper health and safety procedures had been followed.

"MB Plastics Ltd did not have a system in place for formal regular inspections of the plant. As a result, the company failed to maintain the cab window which could have saved this man’s life.

"Birse, the principal contractor on the site, also had a duty to supervise its subcontractors properly. The company had a comprehensive management system but it was not implemented and, as a result, something as simple as a missing window was not spotted.

"This incident emphasises how important it is that companies should not only ensure they have the proper procedures in place – but also ensure they are followed. We’re therefore calling on employers to take their responsibilities seriously so that future tragedies can be avoided."

Passing sentence, Judge Lakin said: "MB had primary responsibility for the welfare of its employees. The harsh reality of this case is that, in relation to this contract, MB completely failed to have any proper regard to their health and safety obligations.

"This directly led to the development of an unsafe and sloppy system of work in relation to the use of telehandlers. As a result MB’s workforce was exposed to completely unnecessary and avoidable risk.

 "Birse, as principal contractors on site, failed to implement their own systems and accordingly failed to properly monitor what MB were doing. This lack of monitoring allowed MB’s disregard for health and safety to continue over a number of weeks. In short, Birse failed in their supervisory role."

TUC warn over sun exposure

Many of the 2,000 people who die every year as a result of skin cancer will have suffered harmful exposure to the sun whilst at work, the TUC has said today, as it urges employers to do more to protect their staff who have to work outside.

With weather forecasters predicting a hot and sunny summer, the TUC has published new guidance – Skin Cancer and Outdoor Workers – for employers and unions on how to protect the hundreds of thousands of people who work outdoors when the sun is shining from the risks of UV radiation.

The TUC guide says that every year there are around 100,000 new cases of skin cancer, with 8,000 of these in the form of malignant melanoma, the most serious and fastest growing form. The number of men with malignant melanoma has increased five-fold in the last 25 years, and the number of women diagnosed has gone up three-fold in the same period.

TUC General Secretary, Brendan Barber, said: “This is not a case of workers getting a little hot under the collar. Skin cancer is the fastest growing kind of cancer in the UK and is killing more and more people every year.

“While most of us are now wise to the need to cover up and splash on the sun lotion on holiday, employers tend not to give their sun-exposed employees much of a thought. This may be because unlike injuries caused by a fall at work, the damaging effect of the sun is not obvious until many years after the damage is done.

“Taking simple precautions like looking at what time of the day outside work has to be done, providing canopies, cool comfortable clothing and sun screen won't cost the earth and could help save thousands of lives needlessly being cut short.”

The TUC says that while it's not possible to say how many deaths from skin cancer are as a result of exposure to the sun at work, the often fatal condition is becoming more common in people who work outdoors. It wants employers to treat the sun just as they would any other potential workplace hazard.

To reduce the risk of employees developing skin cancer, the TUC says that employers can:

• change working practices so that less outside work needs to be done either in the hottest months or during the middle of the day when the sun's rays are at their strongest;
• provide canopies, sheeting, or similar covering over open areas such as building sites where people are working, and make sure that there are shaded areas for staff breaks;
• give information and guidance to staff on how they can avoid exposure to harmful UV radiation, making sure that advice is available in other languages so that migrant workers are not kept in the dark about damage from the sun;
• make sure that any protective clothing is lightweight, long-sleeved and comfortable, is dense enough to prevent UV rays from getting through and allows body heat to escape. Employers should provide lightweight brimmed hats for all outdoor workers; and
• provide sunscreen dispensers and encourage individuals to apply it regularly on exposed skin. Sunscreen should have a sun protection factor of at least 20 (preferably 30) and also give protection against UVA radiation.

Workplace deaths fall to record low

The number of people killed at work in Britain has fallen to a record low, new figures from the HSE reveal. Provisional data shows that 180 workers were killed between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2009 – a rate of 0.6 per 100,000 employees – down from 233 in 2007/08 and 17% lower than the previous lowest total of 217, recorded in 2005/6.

Judith Hackitt, the HSE Chair, said: "We very much welcome any reduction in the number of workers being fatally injured and the fact that the number for 2008/09 is a record low.

“There is inevitably variation in the figures year on year, but we can take heart from the fact that Great Britain consistently has fewer fatal injuries than comparable industrialised nations in the rest of Europe.

"This statistical snapshot needs careful analysis to help us to understand underlying factors, including the impact of the recession.

“Statistics on fatal injuries do not give us the whole picture. Work-related ill health is a significant problem and accounts for four times more working days lost than workplace injury, so there is still a major challenge we all face to prevent death, injury and ill health in all of our workplaces.

"The number and proportion of workers being killed in the workplace is likely to reduce in an economic downturn. But we also know from the past that the number and the rate of fatal injuries increase when trading conditions pick up.

"These statistics are encouraging but there is no magic wand in health and safety. When those running organisations show personal leadership, and when workers are involved in tackling the risks that they face, safety can be improved and lives saved – that is how we can turn this encouraging sign into real sustained improvement."

These figures are the first fatal injury statistics to be published since the recession was confirmed in January 2009.

Nattasha Freeman, the President of IOSH, commented on the figures. She said: “These figures show the true need for health and safety in this country. It shows that health and safety is not just mindless bureaucracy, brought in to make life difficult or prevent us enjoying our lives. It’s about preventing true tragedy that destroys lives. Each worker killed in an accident leaves hundreds, even thousands, of people mourning the needless loss of a loved one, friend or colleague.

“The fact the figure has fallen is good news, but it still means there’s lots of people who’ve been mourning a loved one this year. The statistics don’t even tell the full story – work-related road deaths claim up to 1,000 lives each year, but are not currently included in Britain’s fatal injury statistics. There are also estimated to be over 7,000 deaths each year from cancers which are, at least in part, attributable to the work people have done in their lives.”

HSE warn on workplace roadway maintenance

The HSE is warning employers that they must ensure that vehicles in the workplace can circulate in a safe manner on surfaces that are correctly maintained.

The advice comes after Dairy Farmers of Britain Ltd was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £2,916 costs at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court this week after pleading guilty to brea

hing Regulation 12(1) and Regulation 17(1) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. On June 18, 2008, a ride-on pallet truck and a forklift truck collided on site, injuring the ride-on pallet truck driver.

The injured man, Mr John Reader, who suffered multiple fractures to his lower right leg, was taken immediately to Lincoln County Hospital where he received treatment for his injuries. Following the investigation it was identified that the traffic routes were not organised in such a way that pedestrians and vehicles could circulate in a safe manner.

Although not a contributory factor to the incident, it was also identified that the floor surfaces on the traffic routes were unsuitable.  There were several areas of damage and the floor was almost constantly wet, making it slippery for both vehicles and pedestrians.

Scott Wynne, HSE Inspector, said: "This incident could have been avoided if the company had organised the workplace so that vehicles could operate safely in a set area.

"All companies must assess the risks when pedestrians and vehicles, such as forklift trucks work in close proximity and take appropriate precautions which are well documented in HSE guidance.”

IOSH calls for stress relief

Britain’s bosses need to relieve the pressure on their workers if a stress epidemic is to be avoided, experts have claimed.

Nattasha Freeman, the President of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), says it is critical that employers help their staff cope with the demands of work during these troubled economic times: “Workers are seeing demands on them in the workplace being increased while all the time fearing for their jobs. They’re also seeing their salaries being squeezed while the cost of living is still on the increase. This is not a healthy situation.

“A recent survey carried out by You Gov for IOSH found that 44% of workers felt more pressured in the workplace as a result of the economic downturn, with two-thirds of them saying job insecurity was their biggest concern. Another survey found that over 13% found their work very or extremely stressful.

“If people suffer work-related stress, it’s terrible for them – it can often leave them out of work for a long time. Being out of work is not good for your health, so we need to encourage employers to do more to prevent stress from striking in the first place. Men, particularly, need to be encouraged to make better use of medical advice and health improvement services to help keep them healthy.”

Freeman pointed out that pressure itself was not always a bad thing: “We do need pressure to perform. It’s when the pressure becomes too much that it can be dangerous. If we feel we cannot cope with what is being asked of us, that’s when it becomes a problem. Other factors, such as relationships with work colleagues, the level of support the person gets from their employer, organisational change, and, of course, personal issues brought in from home, can also contribute to a person suffering work-related stress.”

In Britain, 442,000 people believe that work-related stress is making them ill. Last year, work-related stress, depression or anxiety accounted for about 13.5 million lost working days. People working in public administration and defence, education, health, social work and financial intermediation are most likely to suffer from work-related stress.

Freeman added: “The workplace has a key role to play in helping people stay healthy. Many common health conditions can be managed effectively in the workplace – people don’t always need to be signed off on the sick. Employers have a key role to play, working alongside GPs, HR and health and safety professionals, in helping members of staff with health conditions to manage their problems."

HSE warning over quad bikes

The HSE is reminding employers and those using all-terrain vehicles (ATVs, also known as quad bikes) at work of the importance of wearing a protective helmet, the provision of adequate training in the correct use of the vehicle and of ensuring the vehicle is well maintained.

The warning follows the death of a farm worker, Grant Shannon, on 14 June 2007 when he was involved in an ATV accident while working at Kelloe Mains Farm, near Duns.  Mr Shannon sustained fatal head injuries when he lost control of the quad bike and crashed into a tree.  He was not wearing a helmet.

The owners of Kelloe Mains Farm, the partnership known as R & J McDonald, were fined £6,650 at Jedburgh Sheriff Court after pleading guilty to charges under Section 2(1) and Section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for "failure to provide and maintain plant (ATV) that was, so far as reasonably practicable, safe".

Mr Shannon had taken up employment on the farm as a dairy worker just three days before he died.  The accident happened when he was told to use an ATV to assist another employee in moving cattle from one part of a field to another.  The deceased had never driven an ATV before and had not received any formal training on how to do so.  Mr Shannon was not wearing head protection and the quad bike was later found to have a number of defects, the most serious being incorrect tyre pressure, which is critical for the safe operation of ATVs.  Four worn tyres and ineffective rear brakes were also discovered.

HSE Inspector, Gillian McLean, commented after the case: "Mr Shannon’s death could easily have been prevented. Prior to using an ATV the user must have received adequate, formal training and must ensure that the vehicle is in good mechanical condition (pre-ride checks by the operator can ensure that this is the case). The user should also wear a helmet.

"Sadly, farming is a dangerous business, and the numbers of deaths and injuries to farmers, workers and members of the public is unacceptable.  In 2007-08, nine agricultural workers in Scotland lost their life at work and 2,364 were seriously injured.

"Less than 1.5% of the working population is employed in agriculture yet the sector is responsible for between 15% and 20% of fatalities to workers in Great Britain each year."

Police criticised for racial profiling of music audiences

The Metropolitan Police recently defended the use of controversial Form 696. The form is currently used in some London Boroughs as a form of risk assessment as part of the licensing process of live music events. Promoters, musicians and the head of industry umbrella trade body UK Music Feargal Sharkey have all objected to what they see as racially profiling the demographic of audiences attending events.

The form demands that promoters fill out very specific information including the expected ethnic backgrounds of music fans attending particular events. Committee have criticised the paperwork, stating in its report on licensing laws that it was part of an “Increasingly authoritarian approach” employed by police and local authorities in the licensing of music events. The Select Committee is also recommending that the Government should grant a licensing exemption to any premises with a capacity of less than 200 if they wish to have live performances.

MAMA Group’s Live Managing Director Steve Forster said that he wasn’t convinced that Form 696 was the most effective and acceptable way to prevent crime within clubs and music events. Speaking with CMU daily, Forster emphasised that police should be focusing on the small number of “High risk events” rather than putting all music promoters through the intrusive process. MAMA Group’s portfolio includes several key London venues including The Forum and The Hammersmith Apollo in partnership with HMV alongside soon to be re-opened legendary venue The Garage.

The form has also fielded criticism from many musicians, including Jon McClure of Reverend And The Makers (pictured above), who helped set up a petition calling for the abolishment of the form.

However, Billboard then reported that Thomas Bowen and Adrian Studd of The Metropolitan Police argued at The Great Escape music convention in Brighton last month that there had been an 11% reduction in crime at live venues in London this year, adding that information garnered from Form 696 has invaluably assisted in that process, claiming that: “The development of Form 696 has undoubtedly contributed to lowering shootings in these venues”.

Following this, the form was defended by Chief Inspector Adrian Studd of the Metropolitan Police’s Clubs and Vice Unit, who stated that he categorically doesn’t think that the form will be discontinued following a police review. “I’m confident the form will be staying because it’s a very effective crime prevention tool,” he told BBC 6music in an interview. He added “The whole point of the form is to improve safety at events.”

Businesses failing "at-work drivers"

A survey of 10,000 “at-work drivers” has found that businesses throughout the UK are leaving themselves open to the risk of prosecution and the prospect of unlimited fines or even imprisonment, because they are failing to properly discharge the duty-of-care they owe to their at-work drivers.

The survey, undertaken by Matrix Global Services Limited (Matrix), through its ‘Driving Risk Manager’ service, shows that 40% of at-work drivers have never seen their company’s driver handbook whilst more than one-in-five (21.6%) private vehicle drivers don’t have the correct class 1 business use insurance in place and nearly one in twenty (4.8%) have medical conditions which should have been reported to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA).

Of the 10,000 drivers surveyed, 44.9% were driving so called “grey fleet” vehicles, (vehicles which are privately owned but which are used on their employers’ business). Of these, the survey found that 570 accidents went unrecorded by companies in the last 12 months and that of this total 116 drivers had more than one unreported accident.

Fifty drivers disclosed that they currently had nine penalty points on their licenses.The findings also reveal that a significant number of at-work drivers (15.8%) don’t take the time to plan their routes or journeys in advance and 6.9% admitted to not arriving at most of their meetings on time. Separate, independent research has shown the when rushing to get to a meeting a driver is four times more likely to be involved in an accident. 

Commenting on the findings, Scott Ingham, Managing Director of Matrix said: “The results of our survey show that a huge number of UK businesses and organisations are not adequately dealing with this important aspect of workplace health and safety. This is despite the fact that their failure to do so could ultimately, cost them their businesses and even their personal freedom. 

“Of the 1,300 at-work fatalities each year by far the largest proportion of deaths are as a result of road accidents, making at-work driving the lead exposure to organisations of all sizes. If an at-work driving incident occurs, changes in the way that the police investigate all road incidents, coupled with new police inspection powers, mean that they can start their investigation at the offices of the driver’s employer.

"Unless the employer is able to tell the police the condition of the vehicle, its service history, the condition of the driver and the insurance status of the vehicle, then both he and the company are exposed. 

“In order to deal with that exposure and demonstrate compliance, there is a need to show that all of the right procedures and policies are in place, and that there is a robust audit trail to monitor all those people who might drive on business and the condition of their vehicles.  

“The findings of our survey show that businesses need to wake-up to the fact that this is not an area which they can continue to ignore.”

Cornish music festival to relocate

A music festival for 10,000 students is being moved out of Cornwall after objections from local people. Organisers of Beach Break Live are reportedly taking the festival to Port Lympne in Kent.

The festival, with headliners Dizzee Rascal and The Zutons, was due to take place at St Agnes, from 16 to 19 June. But Cornwall Council threatened it with an injunction after objections about safety and traffic. Police say ticket-holders should not travel to Cornwall.

The festival had been planned for Agnes Beacon, where parties and events like the Surfers Against Sewage Ball have been held many times before. Key authorities, including the police, had no objection and a licence was granted.

But on 27 May plans were rejected by Cornwall councillors, who heard concerns from local people about the dangers of so many teenagers partying close to the cliffs, traffic and noise. Gareth Cooper from Outgoing Travel, one of the festival's investors, told BBC News that it was an "unusual state of affairs".

He said negotiations for another site "on the south coast" were still taking place and an announcement would be made soon. The move leaves thousands of festival-goers having to change plans with just over a week before the festival.

He said: "I think Cornwall is going to have problems getting trust from any event promoter in the future. It does not look good. Cornwall needs this business in the recession and a few individuals that have upset it have let down many people."

One ticket holder, 20-year-old Rozita Rahman from Plymouth, said: "I'm definitely worried about the situation. I have no idea what's going to happen. But if it's going to be on a different site that's not near Cornwall I would definitely expect a refund because it would be very difficult for me to get to."

Cornwall Council said in a statement that alternative sites within the county had been explored over the last two weeks, but "no feasible alternative" had been found.

It said: "The council is supportive of well-organised large music events within the county which meet the relevant planning and licensing criteria and there has been a history of a number of such events which have been successful. The council, its officers and members are keen to be involved in early pro-active discussion with event organisers on all future occasions."

Police in Cornwall have reminded ticket-holders not to travel to St Agnes. Mid Cornwall Commander Supt Julie Whitmarsh said: "While it is extremely unfortunate for those who have purchased tickets, we now know this event will not go ahead. We are working with Cornwall Council and other partners to ensure visitors do not congregate on the site and that no unauthorised events take place in the area."

Call for micro-firms to get their own Skills Council

The UK's smallest businesses – which make up the majority of the workforce – should be given their own Small Business Sector Skills Council that will focus on the needs of micro-firms, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

Micro-firms – those with fewer than five employees – are currently being excluded from Government-run training schemes, and are struggling to take advantage of the ‘Train to Gain' scheme, an FSB survey has found.

Train to Gain aims to help businesses develop the skills of their staff, but many small firms are not aware subsidised training is on offer and the majority of sole traders wrongly believe they do not qualify to apply for training, according to the new FSB survey.

Despite a £350m pot of money being announced in the spring this year for the hardest-to-reach small businesses, 88% of respondents to the survey of FSB members said they had not taken up an offer of training through Train to Gain.

The majority (78%) said the scheme needed to be more flexible, and identified the need for training on issues specific to the smallest firms, including leadership and management for businesses with fewer than five employees, and specialised technical and business skills areas that micro businesses operate in. There was also interest in areas such as IT, health and safety, responding to tenders and sales and marketing.

Only 18% of respondents were even aware that training was available in smaller ‘bite-sized' chunks – the majority of which have less than four employees and 2.72 million of which are self employed.

Colin Willman, Federation of Small Businesses Education and Skills Chairman, said: “The Government must start to recognise the needs of the country's smallest businesses, especially during this crucial time when firms need to be investing in skills and training so that they can emerge stronger as they pull the economy out of recession.

"The FSB welcomes extra funding for, and the focus on, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as the increased flexibility. But much of the Government's training offer goes over the heads of the hardest to reach small firms because the training available is inappropriate for the majority of the country's smallest businesses, and because it still isn't flexible enough. A small business with only two employees needs to be able to train its staff in a way that doesn't force them to be out of the office for days on end – especially during a recession when the business needs to be functioning on all cylinders. What we really need is dedicated training for the smallest firms, in the form of a new Small Business Sector Skills Council."

HSE launches new workplace strategy

The HSE is today launching its new strategy, Be Part of the Solution, designed to reduce the number of workplace accidents, dispel myths about health and safety and promote a sensible approach to ensuring that risk management is an enabler for business, not a burden. 

New HSE research demonstrates that employers and workers alike both recognise that providing a safe workplace makes sound commercial sense. Nearly 90% of business leaders say that people are their organisation’s most important asset.  In addition to preventing accidents, 65% of employees say that good health and safety practices make them feel valued.

The recession could make some workplaces more dangerous, as more than a quarter of business leaders say that that their organisation will face pressure to cut spending on health and safety this year. This is not only potentially dangerous but could also be bad for business; nearly eight in ten business leaders acknowledge that good health and safety standards are beneficial.  In part this is because the cost of preventing accidents is almost always less than the costs associated with an accident once it happens.  

Almost half of Britain’s workers know someone who has been injured at work, yet the actual rate of deaths and serious injuries is greatly underestimated.  On average, employees think that 3,000 people were killed or seriously injured at work last year, but the true number is 136,000 – more than 45 times higher.

The HSE believes that too often health and safety is seen as trivial or the preserve of ‘jobsworths,’ rather than preventing tragedy. The most effective way to improve health and safety practices, says the HSE, is for senior management to show leadership on the issue. HSE is thus calling on leaders today to sign a pledge to ‘Be Part of the Solution’ and improve health and safety standards. 

Judith Hackitt, Chair of the HSE, said: “HSE is not, and never will be, ‘the fun police.’  Our new strategy shows the way towards a common sense attitude to health and safety. As regulators, our approach to businesses will be proportionate to the risk they present and their approach to managing it. We are calling on employers and business owners to take the lead themselves in preventing the thousands of deaths every year which are caused by work – it is their moral and legal duty and it is good for the business.”

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, James Purnell, said: “There are too many clichés about the role of ‘health and safety' in our society.  But amidst ridiculous myths about banning donkeys and flip flops, the fact is that too many people are still needlessly killed or injured. The fact that some people go out to work and never return home to their families is a human tragedy. The new HSE strategy recognises that a significant challenge now faces everyone with a stake in health and safety. We need to do everything we can to drive down the toll of death and injury.”

Tom Mullarkey, Chief Executive at RoSPA, welcomed the strategy: “The launch of the HSE’s new strategy comes at a time when many organisations are facing difficult decisions about where to direct their resources.

“Therefore, to complement the renewed focus on the leadership role of directors and senior managers in protecting the wellbeing of workers, we must ensure that we are stating clearly the reasons why strong health and safety management makes sense. Not only are there legal and moral justifications, but the ‘business case’ is stronger in a recession than at any other time.

“If sales reduce, cutting the costs associated with easily-avoidable accidents and work-related ill health becomes an increasingly crucial way to defend the bottom line. And in a highly-competitive market in which clients demand higher standards in order to divorce themselves from the risk of poor contractor performance, the ability to demonstrate effective health and safety management is all the more important in winning new business.”

Corporate Manslaughter Act in full swing

The Crown Prosecution Service appears to be taking no risks with the first prosecution under the new Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 (‘the Act’), which came into force on 6 April 2008. The first charge to be brought under the Act is against a small family company where the directors have close involvement with the day-to-day running of the business.

According to Jon Cooper, Health and Safety Specialist at Bond Pearce LLP, this is unlikely to assist in understanding how the law will be applied to the majority of corporate UK.

A charge under the Act can be brought when management failure by senior managers of a corporation, Crown body, police force, partnership, trade union or employer’s association is a substantial element in a gross breach of duty to take care leading to the death of employees or others. It is not retrospective and only applies to management failures that post-date 6 April 2008. The Act does not apply to individuals, hence the director in this case being charged separately with gross negligence manslaughter.

In the present case, the prosecution is being brought against Cotswold Geotechnical (Holdings) Limited (‘Cotswold Geotechnical’), based in Gloucestershire, following the death of one of its employees. The first hearing is listed at Stroud Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 17 June 2009.

Alexander Wright was a 27-year-old junior geologist and employee of the company. He was taking soil samples during a site survey near Stroud in Gloucestershire in September 2008, when the sides of an excavated pit collapsed, killing him.

Following the death of Wright, Peter Eaton, a director of the company, was charged with gross negligence manslaughter and for a breach of Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (‘HSWA’). S.37 of HSWA provides for the prosecution of a senior office holder of the company if it can be shown that the offence against the company was committed with the consent or connivance of, or following any negligent act of, such a person.

The company has also been charged with a breach of Section 2 of HSWA, which requires employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of employees. “These were the type of cases which were successfully prosecuted under the common law offence of gross negligence manslaughter,” says Cooper.

“It is unlikely to assist in understanding how the law will be applied to big corporations. Nor is it likely that this case will give any novel insight or guidance on the new elements of the Act such as ‘senior management’ and ‘management failure’.”

The ‘senior management’ classification is one of “persons who play significant roles in the making of decisions about the whole or a substantial part of how an organisation’s activities are to be managed or organised or the actual managing or organising of the whole or a substantial part of those activities”. The ‘management failure’ definition is omitting to put systems in place, to check the adequacy of training, and to audit such training.

One of the principal reasons for the implementation of the Act was to overcome the need to establish gross negligence on the part of the ‘controlling mind’ of a business in order to mount a successful prosecution. A company acts through the human agency of its directors, managers and staff and previously, in order to convict a company of manslaughter, it had to be shown that a causal link existed between a grossly negligent act or omission by a person who was the ‘controlling mind’ of the company and the immediate cause of death.

Usually, a person can only be a controlling mind if they are a director or other superior officer, carrying out the functions of management, but if the board has delegated part of their functions of management, with full discretion to act independently, then in such circumstances the delegate may also be considered a controlling mind.

Therefore it was often a difficult concept to establish, particularly with larger companies with more diverse management structures. Most of the successful prosecutions prior to implementation of the Act were of smaller businesses with few ‘hands-on’ directors.

Yet it seems that the controlling mind in the case of Cotswold Geotechnical could have been established relatively easily as the company’s director is also being charged with gross negligence manslaughter. Additionally, the company could have been charged with a common law corporate manslaughter offence prior to the Act coming into force.

If found guilty of the corporate manslaughter offence, the company could face the following penalties:

• Unlimited fines – fines for the offence are likely to be substantial and insurance policies do not cover criminal fines (any policy that purports to cover criminal fines is not legally enforceable as it is against public policy for someone else to pay the wrongdoer’s penalty). The level of fines imposed for health and safety offences has risen generally following the sentences imposed in the Transco and Hatfield prosecutions, and the feeling is that the Courts will look to reflect the gravity of the offence in the level of fines awarded.
• Remedial Orders – on application by the prosecution, the Court will also be able to impose a ‘remedial order’, requiring the defendant business, within a specified period of time, to remedy the breach that caused the fatality and any deficiency in its policies, systems, procedures and practices that led to the breach. Breach of a remedial order will in itself be an offence, punishable by an unlimited fine.
• Publicity Orders – the Court can order that the particulars of the offence, conviction, any fine and the terms of any remedial order be published by the defendant within a specified period. Breach of a publicity order will in itself be an offence, punishable by an unlimited fine.

There are a number of work-related fatality investigations in the pipeline and further prosecutions under the new Act will follow. “The outcome of these prosecutions should be watched with interest,” Cooper advises, “as combined with the increased penalties available under the Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008, the Government is sending a strong deterrent message to businesses who do not take their health and safety responsibilities seriously.”

Safety expert calls for Middle East regulation

International event safety expert Harald Scherer has called for the formation of a safety regulations committee, comprising industry and government representatives from throughout the Middle East. Scherer, said a universal consensus on event safety in the region is needed, to eliminate compliance issues faced by production crews due to inconsistency in the policies of individual venues.

“I would recommend the formation of a small group of industry experts with adequate combined experience,” he said. “A selection of the big venue operators and equipment suppliers would need to be included. They could then put together a fundamental event safety document, appropriate to the region. Once this phase is complete, governments should be included in the process of developing these recommendations further, and bringing them to life.”

Many leading industry figures have advocated for the exclusion of government from the development of locally applicable safety regulations. Sources said this was due to a perception that governmentally influenced regulations would fail to consider the specific challenges faced by the event sector, and favour larger industries, such as construction.

Scherer, who has authored two safety guidebooks in the past, has dismissed the claims and said the region’s governments would recognise the benefit in developing comprehensive safety guidelines. “I think governments need to be included in the process,” he asserted.   “In the UAE for example, the improvement of event safety regulations would benefit the country’s long-term tourism plan, so I think they would be willing to participate.” 

Oil company fined for fire reg breach

Shell International Ltd has been fined £300,000 and ordered to pay £45,000 in costs after pleading guilty to serious breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the RRO).  This fine is the largest imposed under the RRO.

The London Fire Brigade prosecuted Shell following two small fires in the space of three weeks at the Shell Centre on York Road, London. These fires resulted in an inspection being carried out on 12 January 2007. The Inspecting Officers found extensive breaches, including blocked escape routes and fire exits, defective fire doors and excessive fire loading. The fire loading in the Shell Tower had been dramatically increased because of refurbishments taking place in the upper floors.

The deficiencies were so severe the London Fire Brigade served a prohibition notice on Shell, which restricted the use of the Shell Tower and basement levels. Under the prohibition notice, only people working to remedy the fire safety deficiencies were allowed to enter those parts of the building. All employees and members of the public were prevented access until the affected areas were considered to be safe enough to occupy. A further inspection was carried out on 15 January 2007 – all the fire safety failings were remedied and the prohibition notice was lifted.

It was also discovered that Shell’s own fire risk assessment had not been reviewed or updated since March 2003. The 2003 fire risk assessment had identified some of the same failings that were observed during the 2007 inspection. For over three years, the condition of the general fire precautions within the Tower deteriorated with the matters identified by the 2003 fire risk assessment getting worse. On average a new risk assessment should be updated every year.

Assistant Commissioner, Steve Turek, said: “Shell failed to respond properly to their risk assessment for three-and-a-half years and had it not been for the fires which led to the inspection, it could have been considerably longer. Had Shell acted upon the findings of the 2003 risk assessment at the time, they would have avoided putting their staff at risk.”

London Fire Commissioner, Ron Dobson, added: “This conviction shows that major companies are not exempt from prosecution and must take their responsibilities under the RRO seriously. Failure to do so can, as this case has shown, result in a substantial fine.”

Sentencing of Shell International Limited took place at Inner London Crown Court on 2 June 2009 after they pleaded guilty to three breaches of the RRO.