The case of a worker who was fatally crushed on a construction site is the inspiration behind a new Bill aimed at preventing companies going into administration to escape punishment following a death or serious injury.
Calls have been renewed for legislation governing gangmasters to be extended to the construction industry, with a Bill supporting the move set to be debated in the House of Commons in January.
A long-running legal dispute on offshore working hours and leave entitlement has ended with the Supreme Court ruling against the oil and gas workers who brought the case.
From April next year the HSE will charge duty-holders who materially breach health and safety law an hourly rate of £124 for its intervention, which will be counted from when a letter or e-mail recording the duty-holder’s breach is sent.
The Government has announced an immediate consultation on the abolition, consolidation and further review of large numbers of health and safety regulations and aims to remove the first rules from the statute books within a few months.
Union officials have slammed the Government over planned changes to employment regulation, saying they could give bosses the freedom to bully workers without fear of legal repercussions.
The Government’s website rationalisation programme and decision to plough ahead with the development of a single government domain to host all main public information has thrown the future of the HSE website into doubt.
The face of the UK’s workforce is set to change “dramatically” from tomorrow (1 October), as employers will no longer be able to use the Default Retirement Age (DRA) to force employees to retire.
The reporting period for injuries sustained at work is to be extended from three to seven days, following analysis of responses to the consultation on RIDDOR carried out earlier this year.
