This week (1 November) marked UK National Stress Awareness Day.
HSE’s statistics show 914,000 workers were suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2021/22, the cause of 17 million working days lost in this period.
Employers have a legal duty to ensure risks of stress and mental ill health are factored into health and safety risk assessments and acted upon.
HSE's guidance for managing stress at work includes:
HSE's Working Minds campaign aims to help businesses prevent work-related stress in 5 steps, bringing together practical tools and resources.
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The company has been fined £240,000 after it was found that cladding lying on residents’ balconies posed a serious fire risk.
The combustible cladding was similar to that used on Grenfell Tower when the 2017 disaster occurred.
The company had been subject to earlier enforcement for similar breaches during cladding removal. At that time the company was provided with advice on sustainable compliance with the regulations.
HSE's investigation found the company had failed to take account of:
- appropriate precautions to address the risk of fire and to ensure the safety of residents, workers and others
- published guidance on the safe removal of cladding, following the previous enforcement
Read this press release for further details on the incident.
Other recent prosecution cases include:
8 November 2023, 9.40am - 2.15pm
HSE’s annual Health and Work conference is taking place virtually next week.
Delegates will hear from HSE’s health and work experts about what you need to do to manage the risks that cause work-related ill health, your responsibilities as a dutyholder, and invite you to help us by collaborating online in interactive discussions and question and answer sessions.
Delegates will be able to attend up to 2 workshops that will focus on:
- Work-related stress and mental ill health: Exploring the causes, solutions and what employers must do to protect their workers
- Musculoskeletal disorders: One step beyond – taking a proactive approach to risk management
- Respiratory health: Creating the smart consumer
- Asbestos: Understanding your duty to manage
You can view the agenda here and/or register your interest in attending.
Research on noise-induced hearing loss shows around a fifth of workers could be exposed to high noise levels while doing their job.
The issue of noise at work is the subject of a scientific report recently discussed by specialists in the field. A Workplace Health Expert Committee report says about 20% of the working population in Great Britain could be exposed to high noise levels (higher than 85 dBA).
While new cases of occupational deafness have dropped over the past decade, HSE is urging workplaces to consider the shout test to manage noise at work and ways to give workers’ ears a break.
HSE’s noise specialist Chris Steel said: 'If you are shouting at work and can’t be heard from 2 metres away, the chances are there’s a noise issue. Try it out for yourself and see if you can be heard.'
HSE has guidance in relation to noise at work.
You can also find out more by reading our noise at work article.
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