About our News and Infobites
We collate the most interesting news and prosecutions from the health and safety media to share with our clients. Join our mailing list to get our infobites directly in your inbox.
Infobite 267: Demolition Worker Dies after Fatal Crushing
A worker has died after being fatally crushed while demolishing a wall. The worker was tasked with demolishing a rear…
Infobite 266: HSE releases annual health and safety statistics
Last month the Health and Safety Executive published their latest annual report of health and safety statistics for 2021/2022. The…
Infobite 265: Roofing boss gets suspended sentence after worker death
A roofing boss has received a suspended sentence of eight weeks’ imprisonment after a subcontractor died from a fall off…
Infobite 264: HSE Revised Fire Safety Guidance for Construction Industry
Earlier this year, the Health and Safety Executive published a revised version of its fire safety in construction (HSG168) document….
Infobite 263: Roof Failure Alert over Substandard Timber Battens
Contractors have been put on alert to watch out for non-standard timber battens that have been falsely coloured and stamped…
Infobite 262: Transport Giant Fined After Exposing Builders to Asbestos
A transport giant has been fined £133,000 after work at one of its sites exposed builders to asbestos. The firm…
Infobite 261: House Builder Fined for Serial Site Safety Offences
A Blackburn-based house builder has been fined over £100,000 after a long history of health and safety failings. An investigation…
Infobite 260: Food Manufacturer Fined after Worker Left Paralysed
A food manufacturer has been fined £400,000 after an employee sustained a pierced left lung, several broken ribs, four fractured…
Infobite 259: Builder fined after ignoring height safety warning
A building firm has been fined after putting workers at risk during the refurbishment of a former warehouse building in…
Infobite 258: World Mental Health Day – Working Minds
Monday 10th October is World Mental Health Day. This year’s theme is Make Mental Health and Wellbeing for All a Global…
Infobite 257: HSE launches safety blitz on construction sites
HSE inspectors will be conducting approximately 1,000 site visits throughout October and November, to examine how workers are moving heavy…
Infobite 256: Two companies and employees sentenced after 18-year-old worker’s death
Two companies and two people have been sentenced after an 18-year-old construction worker was killed while working on a house-build…
Infobite 255: Site boss fined for locking out safety inspectors
A man who was in control of a construction site in Scotland has been fined for not allowing two HSE…
Infobite 254: Civils contractor fined £600k after boy dies in drainage pipe
A civil engineering firm has been fined £600,000 for safety breaches after a seven-year-old boy became trapped and suffocated on…
Infobite 253: Major Brewery Fined after Worker Dies in Gas Leak
A major brewery has been fined £3 million after a man died and another was seriously injured following an ammonia…
Infobite 252: Building Contractor Fined and Suspended Over Unsafe Work Practices
A Blackburn-based building contractor has been sentenced after unsafe work methods constituted a public risk and resulted in asbestos being…
Infobite 251: Data, not deaths: why publishing fatality figures is crucial for improvement
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in Great Britain have published their annual workplace fatality figures. IOSH have recently published…
Infobite 250: Heat-Health Alerts as UK Temperatures Soar
Heat-health alerts have been issued this week as temperatures soar across the UK. Is it too hot to work? There…
Infobite 249: Concrete Products Company Fined After Employee Amputation
A concrete products supplier has been prosecuted after an employee lost both his arms to a cement mixer. Nottingham Crown…
Infobite 242: Asbestos Removal Company Director Jailed
An asbestos management company director has been jailed after failures to protect workers from asbestos exposure during a major refurbishment…
Infobite 241: Construction Plant Hirer Fined After Dumper Truck Crash
A construction plant hirer has been fined for failure to maintain the braking system of an articulated dumper truck after…
Information bite 240: Changes to PPE Regulations
From 6th April 2022, the PPE regulations are changing. How will the upcoming changes to the personal protection equipment (PPE)…
Information bite 239: CSCS Smart Check App
The new CSCS Smart Check App rolls out in April 2022, and is set to radically improve the construction industry’s…
Information bite 238: Woodworking Sector to be inspected by HSE
Every year in the UK, around 12,000 people die from lung diseases linked with past exposure to hazardous substances at…
Information bite 237: National Heart Month 2022
National Heart Month is an annual event observed in the UK which aims to raise awareness about heart diseases and…
Information bite 236: Construction company director sentenced after multiple health and safety failings
A construction company in Scotland has been fined over £30,000; and its director sentenced to community service after multiple safety…
Information bite 235: Construction worker dies after fall from mobile tower
A construction company has been fined after an employee died following a fall from a mobile tower. Cambridge Magistrates Court…
Information bite 234: Builders merchant fined after worker struck by vehicle
A builder’s merchant has been fined £180,000 after a worker suffered multiple injuries when he was struck by a reversing…
Information bite 233: Employee suffers sight loss on retail refurbishment.
A contractor has been fined after an employee suffered significant sight loss in his right eye on a retail refurbishment…
Information bite 232: A contractor fined after worker fell through roof sheet
A contractor has been fined after a worker fell six metres through a fragile roof sheet whilst working on a…
Information bite 231: Harnessing the value of Social Sustainability (IOSH)
What does it mean to be a responsible, resilient and sustainable business? It starts with people. Businesses need to look after…
Information bite 230:Scaffold boss handed suspended jail sentence after forklift death
The Managing Director of a scaffolding company has been given a suspended prison sentence after a worker died from being…
Information bite 229: Contractor Fined After Asbestos Exposure
A contractor has been fined for safety breaches after employees were exposed to asbestos after removing false ceiling tiles during…
Information bite 228: Fit Out Contractor Fined After Scaffold Fall
A fit out contractor has been fined after an employee suffered multiple fractures after falling fifteen feet from scaffolding. Manchester…
Information bite 227: HSE respiratory health inspection initiative for the construction sector
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) is focusing on the respiratory risks of dust exposure to construction workers. A month-long…
Information bite 225: Scaffolder prosecuted over fatal fall
A roofer and scaffolder have been prosecuted after a 2nd roofer died after falling from a scaffold at a two-storey…
Information bite 224: Angle Grinder Chainsaw Disc Safety Alert
A safety alert by the Office for Product Safety and Standards calls for a chainsaw disc attachment that has been…
Information bite 223: Mental Health Awareness Week 2021
As businesses and organisations prepare to adapt to a controlled easing of lockdown restrictions this summer, it seems the pandemic…
Information bite 222: Sun Awareness Week 2021
Sun Awareness Week (3-9 May) encourages people to regularly self-examine for signs of skin cancer and teaches them about the…
Information bite 221: Demolition firm fined £200k after worker sustains life-changing injuries
A demolition company has been fined after the operator of an articulated boom type cherry picker became trapped between the…
Information bite 220: Reopening Businesses as Lockdown Measures Ease
As lockdown measures ease across the UK, businesses are starting to re-open their doors to clients, customers and employees. You…
Information bite 219: Global Asbestos Awareness Week
This year’s Global Asbestos Awareness Week (01-07 April 2021) aims to increase awareness of asbestos and prevent exposure by bringing…
Information bite 218: Two construction companies fined after bricklayer injured
Two construction companies have been fined a total of £46,000 after a bricklayer was injured when a working platform failed….
Information bite 217: Civils Contractor fined after self-employed ground worker loses arm
A South West contracting firm has been fined £250,000 after a self employed ground worker lost his arm in a…
Information bite 216: Covid 19 Latest Update
Covid19 is spreading fast and cases of infection are rising rapidly. The government’s latest advice is to stay at home….
Information bite 215: HSE Coronavirus spot checks – An Update
The HSE are continuing to call and visit workplaces across the UK to check that they are Covid-secure. They are…
Information bite 214: Protecting Home Workers During Lockdown 2.0
Today (5th November) we have entered lockdown 2.0 which means thousands of employees will be working from home again. As…
Information Bite 213: HSE Coronavirus Spot Checks
The HSE is carrying out spot checks and inspections on all types of business, to make sure that they are…
Information Bite No 212 – Construction Health Inspection Initiative
The HSE is carrying out its latest construction health initiative with health and safety inspectors targeting construction sites across Great…
Information Bite No 211 – Inadequate / Fraudulent Facemasks
A substantial number of face masks, claiming to be of KN95 standards, provide an inadequate level of protection and are…
Information Bite No 210 How Coronavirus spreads
Data from published epidemiology and virologic studies provide evidence that COVID-19 is primarily transmitted from symptomatic people to others who…
Information Bite 209 Covid19 RAMS
A fatality occurred on a construction site on 13/04/2020. Police and HSE attended the project and the first thing they…
Information Bite 207 Fresh site rules where 2m distancing cannot be obeyed
Newly-updated site operating procedures for workers during the coronavirus outbreak have set out risk reduction measures where 2m distancing rules…
Information Bite 206 College fined for Asbestos Failings
Cambridge Magistrates’ Court heard that in March 2018, employees of Newnham College and subcontractors were carrying out a refurbishment of…
Information Bite 205 Developer fined £600,000 for white finger outbreak
A developer has been fined £600,000 after five employees developed Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome. Aylesbury Crown Court heard that…
Information Bite 204 Safety alert over precast drainage products
Contractors are checking precast concrete drainage products installed on sites after a trade body warned of uncertified components hitting the…
Information Bite 203 Company fined after employees exposed to respirable Crystalline Silica
A playground installation and landscaping contractor has been fined after failing to provide employees with adequate control measures to prevent…
Information Bite 202 Construction firm fined due to multiple safety failings
A construction firm has been sentenced after failing to put measures in place to prevent falls from height and to…
Information Bite 201 Health Board and Company Director sentenced after worker suffers life-changing injuries
On 16th July 2019, a Cardiff-based health board and the director of a maintenance company were sentenced after a worker…
Information Bite 200 Garden Shed manufacturer fined after Employee injures hand
A garden shed manufacturer has been fined after an accident at its site in Gateshead resulted in an employee losing…
Information Bite 199 Company fined after worker killed by Forklift Truck
A Birmingham manufacturer was sentenced on 19th July 2019 after a worker suffered fatal injuries when struck by a forklift…
Information Bite 198 Construction firm prosecuted due to inadequate Welfare Facilities on site
A construction company has been prosecuted after failing to ensure that suitable welfare facilities were provided for workers on site….
Information Bite 196 Applicants Right to Work in the UK
You must check that a job applicant is allowed to work for you in the UK before you employ them….
Information Bite 195 CITB makes £17.8m of funds available for site-ready workers
CITB is promising to provide at least 18,000 new site-ready workers under its latest initiative. The skills body is pumping-in…
Information Bite 194 VAT cash-flow crisis looming for construction
Thousands of construction companies are facing a 20% drop in cash flow when VAT changes come into force in October….
Information Bite 193 Call to delay VAT changes as chaos looms for contractors
Construction leaders are calling on the Treasury to delay the major VAT changes which could cause “chaos” across the industry….
Information Bite 192: 29 arrests in immigration raid on a King’s Cross site
Immigration officials arrested 29 workers after a raid on a BAM site in King’s Cross last week. Fifteen are in…
Info Bite 191: Contractor fined for ignoring silica dust warning
A specialist playground installation and landscaping contractor has been fined after failing to provide employees with adequate protection against respirable…
Info Bite 190 No exclusion zone allowed concrete pump hose to ‘whip round’ and kill worker
An Essex-based civil engineering firm has been fined after a construction worker was killed by concrete pumping hose. The operator…
Info Bite 189 Floor layer killed by toxic fumes
A materials supplier and a maintenance contractor have been fined a total of £750,000 following the death of a floor…
Info Bite 188 HSE issues warning over electrical supply connections after worker’s flashover burns
A worker who threw a crowbar at live electrical equipment that he thought had been isolated sustained severe burns when…
Info Bite 187 PC fined after bricklayers injured in ‘preventable’ floor collapse
A construction company whose failure to assess the risks and prevent a structural collapse that contributed to two workers being…
Info Bite 186 £160k fine after boy, 12, climbed scaffold from badly-guarded ladder
A construction company has been fined £160,000 after a 12 year old boy was able to climb a ladder accessing…
Infobite 185 Change in Enforcement Expectations for Mild Steel Welding Fume
Introduction: There is new scientific evidence from the International Agency for Research on Cancer that exposure to mild steel welding…
Info Bite 184: Power contractor pays £235,000 over electric shock injuries
An electrical contractor which specialises in providing temporary power supplies to construction sites has been fined a quarter of a…
Info Bite 183: How to protect construction workers in adverse weather
How to protect construction workers in adverse weather Poor weather conditions can put workers at risk and seriously disrupt work,…
Supreme Court rules ‘self-employed’ Pimlico Plumber engineer was entitled to worker’s rights
The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by Pimlico Plumbers over the employment status of a plumbing and heating engineer…
Steel Fabrication Company Director Disqualified For Evading Fine
An engineering boss who liquidated his company and set up a new business to avoid paying a fine after a…
Balfour Beatty repeatedly put workers at risk of developing HAVS
A division of infrastructure giant Balfour Beatty has been fined £500,000 after exposing workers to the risk of developing hand-arm…
The General Data Protection Regulations 2018
The General Data Protection Regulations 2018 (GDPR) will come into force in May 2018. GDPR aims to facilitate the free…
£3m fine for Spanish firm after worker with unsecured harness dies in fall
A principal contractor from northern Spain, hired to demolish redundant machinery at an alumnium reprocessing works in Wales, has been…