Opinion

    Female Truck Driver iStock solstock

    UK truckers: why more action is needed to make their working lives safer and healthier

    When most people think of safety in road haulage they think about the machinery, but the most important part of our industry has always been the people, in this instance the person behind the wheel.

    By Ashton Cull, Road Haulage Association (RHA) on 01 November 2024

    Budget Red Box iStock stocknshares

    Can a ‘Budget for working people’ finally ‘Get Britain Working’?

    How many column inches were taken up in the build-up to the Budget wondering who exactly the Government meant by ‘working people’? And now that we know what was in it, does it really matter?

    By Mike Robinson FCA, British Safety Council on 01 November 2024

    Happy Woman at Laptop iStock LaylaBird

    Progression, pay and policy: the key to tackling gender inequalities in the workplace

    Business in the Community (BITC) works to create a fairer world to live and work in. We believe gender shouldn’t act as an unfair help or hindrance to someone’s chances of professional or wider life success, but sadly this remains the case in workplaces up and down the country.

    By Charlotte Woodworth, Business in the Community on 01 October 2024

    Grenfell Photo By Flickr Chiraljon

    Can Grenfell’s legacy be 1.5 million safe new homes?

    The new UK Government faces major hurdles on a number of fronts – not least the £22 billion ‘black hole’, which leaves little headroom for the Chancellor in her forthcoming Budget.

    By Mike Robinson FCA, British Safety Council on 01 October 2024

    Worker in Wheelchair iStock Edwin Tan

    Reasonable adjustments – understanding the cost and benefits

    Although employers may sometimes be worried about the cost and resource implications, reasonable adjustments to support disabled people to thrive at work are often inexpensive and easy to enact – and provide a major boost to staff productivity, engagement and loyalty.

    By Faye Law, Acas on 01 October 2024

    Stressed Out Female Office worker iStock Delmaine Donson

    Supporting employee mental health: what do we need from the Government?

    The newly-elected Labour administration is now more than three months into its tenure. And we know the to-do list of any incoming government is always vast. However, it is imperative within these priorities that there is a clear strategy to support employee mental health.

    By Michael Hough, Mental Health Foundation on 01 October 2024

    Stressed Man at Laptop iStock

    Regulating mental health and wellbeing: the current picture

    Health and safety law contains detailed rules to regulate the safety of the workforce, across all workplaces, and for specific higher risk activities and industries. These are well enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which has been very successful in driving down the number of fatalities and injuries sustained at work in the UK. The same is not true when it comes to mental health and wellbeing.

    By Katherine Metcalfe, Pinsent Masons on 01 October 2024

    Baroness Bennett

    It’s time to ban artificial stone worktops over silicosis risk

    If you are in the market for a new kitchen, you will come across engineered stone or ‘quartz’ worktops. Cheap, premium, luxury are words that will be thrown around photos and videos lingering on expanses of shiny, multicoloured stone. But not in Australia, where since July new engineered stone worktops have been banned (although some states allow a six-month transition period).

    By Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle on 01 September 2024

    Danger Asbestos iStock Steve Luker

    Asbestos risk management: why the UK is falling short

    Assessments of background asbestos levels in UK buildings may be providing employers with a false sense of reassurance. The UK also looks set to fall behind Europe in reducing the risks the substance poses to building occupants and workers.

    By Colette Willoughby, Asbestos Compliance Limited on 01 September 2024

    Artificial Intelligence iStock Khanchit Khirisutchalual

    Will we be celebrating AI fifty years from now?

    No doubt you have heard or seen the ads marking the 50th anniversary of that famous fast-food restaurant with the golden arches. Those of you who’ve been paying attention will also be aware that it’s the 50th year since the Health & Safety at Work Act was enacted in the UK. I am sure there is no significance in this. But when I started thinking about it, there are perhaps some parallels we can draw between the success of the aforementioned restaurant chain and the landmark 1974 Act.

    By Mike Robinson FCA, British Safety Council on 01 September 2024