03 Sep September

In this month’s newsletter we cover the RIDDOR Regulations & Reporting to the HSE plus two case studies in the courts:

• RIDDOR and Reporting – Taken from an article published by the SHP magazine this month, it argues that in an ideal world we wouldn’t need RIDDOR. However, as this is not the case, it enables reflection on the events that have occurred to ensure people are kept safe at work by learning lessons. RIDDOR regulations relate to ‘responsible’ persons reporting incidents and injuries. In this case, ‘responsible’ is generally taken to mean employers, but it could also mean managers, the self-employed and people in control of premises. These people should report any of the following: Fatal injuries, Specified non-fatal injuries, Occupational diseases, Dangerous occurrences (also referred to as ‘near misses’), Incidents resulting in an employee being away from work for seven days or more, Incidents involving injured members of the public being taken to hospital, and Incidents involving gases where people have been taken to hospital.
• Fine for company who ignored previous enforcement action – Daneets Developments Limited pleaded guilty to breaching the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 Reg 13, and was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,744 at Blackpool Magistrates Court on August 31 2022. After the hearing, HSE Inspector Jackie Western said: “Those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working and to provide the necessary information, instruction, and training to their workers in the safe system of working. Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”
• Sentencing for companies and employees after 18-year-old worker dies – Brent Woods, a manager within P & R Plant Hire (Lincolnshire) Limited for approximately 10 years, sent employees to carry out the task without a risk assessment or method statement in place despite having previously produced such information in the past. In addition, workers had not been trained to work in a road, had not been provided with any equipment to ensure the work was carried out safely and had not been provided with any instruction on any safety measures to be used at site. On 6 September at Lincoln Crown Court, it was reported that Darrell Tripp, a site manager for D. Brown (Building Contractors) Limited for approximately four years, having worked in the construction industry for about 40 years, did not carry out a site induction of Josh Disdel and failed to carry out suitable checks to ensure the workers had the relevant training. Mr Tripp also failed to ensure there was a safe system of work in place of whether there were adequate control measures. Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Mark Welsh said: “This was a completely avoidable incident, caused by a multitude of failures by both companies and both of the individuals who appeared in court.”