Bosses ignoring asbestos removal regulations
Tradespeople’s lives are being put at risk by bosses instructing workers to ‘get rid of asbestos themselves’, a study finds.
24 November 2024 marks 25 years since all forms of asbestos were banned in the UK. In light of the anniversary and to raise awareness around its pressing dangers, new research1 by leading online training provider High Speed Training, has revealed the alarming ambivalence that exists amongst tradespeople towards the material.
Despite around 5,000 people dying each year from asbestos-related illness2, for half (50%) of tradespeople, asbestos has become less of a concern the longer they have been in their trade. According to the research, the top five reasons for the lessening concern are:
- Seeing asbestos as a problem of the past (36%)
- Asbestos being banned for so long (33%)
- The probability of already being exposed to asbestos (17%)
- Not knowing enough about asbestos (12%)
- Thinking that it’s only dangerous in large quantities (10%)
Read more on the HSM website.
Fine for construction company after father of three left paralysed
A father-of-three was left paralysed from the chest down after falling through a ceiling at a house renovation in Derbyshire.
Chesterfield builder Andrew Clifford remained lying face down on the floor for around six hours before he was found by a delivery driver. He judged the time by hearing hourly news bulletins from his radio.
Andrew had been working alone installing first-floor joists during the construction of a house on Main Road in Dronfield. The 51-year-old was carrying out the work on behalf of Paul Freeman Limited – a Mansfield-based company he had worked with for around 20 years.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has prosecuted the company for failing to properly plan work at height.
On the morning of 31 October 2022 Mr Clifford slipped and fell from the first floor to the ground below and was left unable to move.
For more on the incident, visit the HSE website.
Spending watchdog urges government to publish target date for completing building safety remediation
Publishing a target date for the completion of dangerous cladding remediation works and providing greater transparency on remediation performance are two key recommendations from a new National Audit Office (NAO) report.
In its first report on the government’s remediation programme since five separate programmes were brought together into a single scheme in 2023, the NAO says there has been a “substantial increase” in remediation activity since 2020. So far, according to the NAO, 4,771 buildings have been brought into the scheme, but it’s taking longer than expected to identify the remainder and some may never be identified. With a potential 7,200 buildings or more (up to 60%) still to be identified, many residents still do not know when their buildings will be made safe, contributing to their suffering “significant financial and emotional distress”.
Learn more on the SHP website.
Stress Awareness Week: Employers have to fulfil legal duty
Britain’s workplace health and safety regulator, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), is calling on all employers during Stress Awareness Week 2024 to carry out their legal duty to prevent work-related stress and support good mental health at work.
HSE figures show the average employee suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety took an average of 19.6 days off work, almost the equivalent of a month’s working days, with an estimated 875,000 cases in 2022/23.
HSE’s Working Minds campaign provides employers with simple steps to prevent days lost due to work-related stress.
Kayleigh Roberts, Work-Related Stress and Mental Health Policy Lead at HSE, said: “Our statistics clearly outline that there is a work-related stress issue in Britain and we want this to change. A total of 17.1 million working days were lost in 2022/23, and this figure has a serious cost to the individual and to the business. Employers can make a difference by understanding and fulfilling their legal duty to prevent work-related stress and support good mental health at work.
“That is why we are reminding employers during Stress Awareness Week that it is critical they recognise the signs of work-related stress and get to the root causes behind this issue. Prevention is better than cure and understanding the risks is the first step to preventing them.”
Visit the HSE website for more on the Working Minds campaign.
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