HSE Releases New Research

Experts at Irwin Mitchell have called on employers and local authorities to ensure they use health and safety legislation in the right manner to ensure risks to workers and the public are always properly assessed.

The call has come following the Health and Safety Executive’s latest research into common myths and instances in which concerns of safety have apparently been cited as a reason to ban various activities.

Among the list of examples flagged were instances in which street parties to celebrate the Royal Wedding have been banned, as well as concerns over sack races for children on school sports days.

Irwin Mitchell acts for both workers and the general public who have been seriously injured as a result of safety failings in workplace environments and in public areas, as well as the families of those who have died in such incidents.

David Urpeth, national head of workplace injuries at Irwin Mitchell, said: “Health and safety legislation should always be implemented in a way which ensures resources are used effectively both in the workplace and in other areas.

“However, this also means that regulations need to be used in the right sense – to protect people from unreasonable risks and not as some kind of excuse to either stop social activities or cancel events.

“To do otherwise only serves to create an incorrect public perception of health and safety, which in turn could potentially fuel some level of complacency in how people choose to implement regulations related to protecting people from harm.

“So many of the cases that Irwin Mitchell deal with come about as a result of people being seriously injured when employers and other bodies have failed to meet safety guidelines and ensure people are fully protected.

“We would urge all bodies involved in implementing safety guidance to use it in the most effective, and proportionate, manner.”