Every workplace in the UK is subject to RIDDOR. This is a health and safety law that came into effect in 2013. Both employers and employees have various responsibilities under RIDDOR, such as reporting accidents and other hazards in the workplace. Today’s article will take a closer look at how RIDDOR affects employees, employers, and Responsible Persons. What is RIDDOR? RIDDOR stands for “Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations”. This legislation was designed to simplify the reporting of work-related accidents, diseases, and incidents with the potential to cause ..read more

After manual handling and slips, ‘struck by’ accidents are the third-largest cause of injuries in the workplace. A ‘struck by’ accident is one where an object or piece of equipment impacts a person. These objects could be falling, flying, swinging, or rolling when they strike a person and cause injury. Moving vehicles can also cause ‘struck by’ injuries if they hit a person. Sadly, 41 workers died in 2022 as a result of these incidents in the workplace. Preventing ‘Struck By’ Accidents It’s clear that ‘struck by’ accidents pose a serious risk to workers, but what can we do to prevent them? Her ..read more

Regardless of the job you do, you will always be faced with risks. There is no such thing as a risk-free environment, after all, as even the smallest thing can become a hazard. However, there are certain jobs where specific risks are more likely. This is especially true for employees working in lone worker sectors. One example of a role that faces specific risks is delivery drivers. Risks of Being a Delivery Driver The delivery and courier sector has grown over the past few years. This was partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with many workers leaving old jobs to meet the growing demand impose ..read more

A 2021 report revealed that roughly 5% of the UK workforce is made up of cleaners. That comes to about 1.47 million people. Furthermore, cleaners are often required to work unsupervised when other staff have gone home. Health and Safety for cleaners is crucial for keeping them safe. There are many potential hazards that cleaners face on a regular basis. Here are some of the most common risk factors. Slips and Trips Cleaning often involves washing floors. Alternatively, vacuum cleaners and floor buffers with trailing cables may be used. As such, many accidents can involve slips or trips. 37% of ..read more

The construction industry is amongst the largest in the UK. It employs over 3.1 million people, which amounts to more than 9% of the national workforce. It has also been listed as the UK’s third most dangerous industry. Of course, there are ways to make construction sites better for workers. Here we will look at some tips for improving construction safety. 1. Always Wear the Correct Protective Equipment This may seem obvious, but correctly wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) makes all the difference to construction safety. Your hard hat could be the difference between life and death in ..read more

When it comes to lone workers and rules surrounding lone working, many employers are likely to have questions. There is a lot of legislation to think about, and sometimes you may not know who exactly those rules apply to. This article is dedicated to answering many of the most pressing questions about lone workers. These include defining who counts as a lone worker, what hazards they tend to face, and what your responsibilities are to them.   What is a Lone Worker? Lone workers are defined by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as employees “who work by themselves without close or direc ..read more

Around 150 lone workers are attacked in the UK every day, according to 2018 figures from the British Safety Council. This includes both physical and verbal assault. That is 54,750 lone workers being attacked every year. Lone workers should be protected when working alone and feel safe in their workplace. It’s important that employers know how to protect their lone workers. Which Lone Workers are Most At Risk? Many different industries employ lone workers, including security, farming, factory work, and more. The lone workers who face the highest risk of physical and verbal assault at work are ..read more

Workshops are busy, often cluttered places. At times, there can be more than a dozen projects on the go at a time. Furthermore, you will often find yourself under strict deadlines, which means that health and safety may become a secondary concern. However, it is crucial that you remain mindful of common workshop hazards. What is a Hazard? Health and Safety guidance defines a hazard as anything likely to cause harm. It may not have harmed anyone yet, but it should be recognised as being capable of doing so. This could be an object, or it may be a task. Workplaces are likely to have multiple haz ..read more

There are always a lot of jobs that need to be done in the workplace, and plenty of Health and Safety regulations to worry about. Some tasks require employees to undertake manual handling operations. Unfortunately, these tasks can result in injuries. Fortunately, there are ways of preventing this. What is Manual Handling? Before you can understand how to prevent manual handling injuries, you first need to know what tasks are classed as manual handling. According to the Government Regulations, Manual Handling is defined as: “…any transporting or supporting of a load (including the lifting, put ..read more

Lone workers encompass a large, diverse group of the UK’s working population. In fact, some estimates project that more than 20% of the UK workforce are lone workers. The best way to protect your lone workers is with lone worker alarms. Lone Alarms put both workers and employers at ease, knowing that help will be on the way quickly if anything happens. Lone Working Policy Another way to protect your lone workers is to create a lone working policy. Lone workers need their own policies and procedures to ensure they are protected from any specific risks and hazards. A lone working policy is an of ..read more