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WORKPLACES
FACE STRESS TIME BOMB
Employers could be deluged by
compensation claims from stressed-out staff because they are failing to
introduce safeguards in the workplace, according to a recent study.
A UK-wide survey of 1,400
personnel managers reveals that 80% of organisations have not introduced
employee stress risk assessments required by the Health & Safety Executive.
The HSE estimates that up to five
million people in the UK feel "very" or "extremely" stressed
by their work and that stress-related health problems cost companies £3.7
billion annually.
The conductors of the survey
commented that many employers were "unprepared strategically, unprotected
legally, and under-insured with regard to addressing the growing phenomenon of
stress in the workplace".
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"Many
managers simply do not understand its impact: they are either hoping it will
just go away, or paralyzed with uncertainty as to how to handle it", they
added.
The financial services, health
and education sectors came in for particular scrutiny from the HSE to ensure
employers are fulfilling their statutory duties.
Employers have a legal duty of care towards their staff, and this
includes implementing policies to minimise the impact of stress-related illness.
The survey indicates that
employers have two attitudes towards tackling stress. The first is to treat it
merely as the latest ‘fad’, and not worth taking seriously. In
the second camp, companies acknowledge the problem but they simply can’t get
to grips with it.
Some
60 per cent of employers admitted they did not monitor stress-related absence,
although this could make them vulnerable at tribunals over resignations from
stressful-working environments.
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INJURY
REPORTING TO BE MADE EASIER FOR BUSINESSES
The
Health and Safety Commission (HSC) has published a discussion
document as part of its review of RIDDOR (the Reporting of Injuries,
Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995).
A key element is
to ensure that any future reporting requirements are easy to
understand and that businesses can achieve compliance without undue
administrative costs.
It is also essential that any reporting system is unbureaucratic and
does not burden business unnecessarily.
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This discussion
document is an opportunity to consider the current reporting system
and its direction in a fundamental way, looking at the whole
reporting system and its principles.
Launching
the discussion document, Bill Callaghan, Chair of HSC said:
"We need
RIDDOR and the reporting system to be key drivers for improving
behaviour and standards of health and safety management to help us
achieve our vision of a world in which sensible health and safety is
a cornerstone of a civilised society. "
The
Review is above all an unique opportunity to go back to first
principles to develop a reporting system to take us to 2010 and
beyond."
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HIGHER
RISK OF CORPORATE MANSLAUGHTER FOR DIRECTORS
The UK
Home Secretary has set out tough new laws to prosecute companies and
organisations whose ‘gross failure’ at senior management level results in a
fatality.
The
draft Corporate Manslaughter Bill will update existing laws on corporate
killing. The proposed new criminal offence of corporate manslaughter will apply
when someone has been killed because the senior management of a corporation has
‘grossly failed to take reasonable care for the safety of employees or
others’. This tackles the key problem with the current law: the need to show
that a single individual at the very top of a company is personally
guilty of manslaughter before the company can be prosecuted.
The new
offence will mean that courts can look at a wider range of management conduct
than at present. It focuses responsibility on the working practices of the
organisation, as set by senior managers, rather than limiting investigations to
questions of individual gross negligence by company bosses.
The new
offence will be clearly linked to the standards required under existing health
and safety laws. The criminal liability of individual directors will not be
affected by the proposals.
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Corporate manslaughter is an offence committed by
organisations rather than individuals and will therefore carry a penalty of an
unlimited fine rather than a custodial sentence.
Ministers
have stressed that no new burdens will be placed on companies that already
comply with health and safety legislation. Organisations taking a
conscientious approach to their current obligations have nothing to fear.
The
proposals will apply to Crown bodies, such as government departments, as well as
the wider public sector and industry. They create a broad level playing field
between public and private sectors and apply when both are carrying out similar
activities, for example:
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Ensuring
safe working practices for their employees (e.g. that staff are properly
trained and equipment is in a safe condition);
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Maintaining
the safety of their premises (e.g. ensuring that lifts are properly
maintained and fire precautions taken); and
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When
providing goods and services to members of the public, or when operating
commercially (e.g. providing transport services, operating care homes or
running hospitals).
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Venue:
Regus Business Centre, Portland House, Stag Place, London, SW1E 5RS
Dates: April 28th or 29th, May 5th, 13th, or 18th 2005.
Who
Should Attend?
"Those who are responsible for recruitment and those involved
with and responsible for the organisations Heath, Safety and Welfare."
Course
Programme Includes:
UNDERSTANDING THE LAW
An introduction to legislation
applicable to you |
WHAT IS A DISABILITY?
Understanding definitions and dealing
with issues at work |
REASONABLE ADJUSTMENTS TO ACCOMMODATION
What is involved and why pro-active
management? |
YOUR ENVIRONMENT
What is required and answering your
questions |
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MANAGEMENT & ARRANGEMENTS |
BOOK
NOW TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT
For
further information or to book a training course, email us at training@health-safety.net
or call Eve Horgan Free on 0800 169 1554
For
information on health & safety matters in your office, including
“questions & answers”, see our web site at
www.health-safety.net.
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