OUR BLOG 

 
Below are a number of posts containing useful tips and insights from the Directors of Auxil Limited, acknowledged industry experts and trusted advisors in the fields of Health & Safety and Human Resources, which will hopefully trigger some thoughts or ideas. 
 
Why not join the conversation? We would love to hear your views… 
Working with electricity on construction sites requires the correct precautions to be taken by both site manager and operatives in order to ensure a safe and sufficient system of work for all involved. 
While electrical equipment can be useful in site activities, it presents just as much risk of harm and even death if it is not assessed before use. 
 
It is important when working with electrical equipment that the system is isolated and turned off when not in use, as doing so reduces the risk of accidents involving electricity. An electric shock can vary from a minor injury to fatal, especially depending on whether low or high voltage is used. A risk assessment and a safe isolation procedure must be put in place before any work with electrical systems are conducted. 
 
It is important for employers to ensure the safety of employees when driving vehicles, whether they are driving cars, vans, motorbikes etc, on the road as part of a work activity. Just as much as health and safety laws apply to all construction sites, they also apply to when employees drive on the road. The driver’s health and the condition of the vehicle are to be assessed prior to driving, as the driver’s mental and physical health affect their driving, along with the vehicle not being in a good condition, can increase the risk of danger on the road. 
 
A risk assessment must be carried out as part of health and safety arrangements, taking into account the driver, the vehicle and the journey to be taken. The following hazards to consider include: 
• The condition of the vehicle 
• The roadworks, traffic and congestion 
• Weather 
• Fatigue and/or distractions 
• Pressure of time 
• The behaviour of other drivers 
 
Tips on providing former employee references 
 
Employers do not have to provide a reference for a former employee but, if you do, the reference must be true, fair and accurate. Providing a misleading or inaccurate reference could lead to, under principles of negligent misstatement, a claim for damages from both the former employee and new employer. 
 
Employers should be particularly cautious when providing references for employees who have been dismissed for gross misconduct or left in similar circumstances. The employer should, in this instance, communicate the issues accurately. The employer should also be careful to make very clear if the allegations have, or have not, been investigated. 
 
Many employers now only provide a ‘bare minimum’ reference, but this should not be used as a means of concealing something serious. 
The storage of fuel on construction sites must be secured at all times, as all fuel is flammable and even combustible depending on the particular fuel substances and requirements needed for such a reaction. 
 
Fuel on site can be flammable liquids, which can spill or leak out and could result in fires and Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Explosions, and flammable gases that can result in a confined or unconfined explosion. 
 
All fuel must be kept away from all hot works or other activities that could introduce heat to the canisters and thus help to create a fire or explosion. This would include screens for hot works and keeping fuel away from cables which could result in electrical arcs in equipment. Bowsers and tanks are to be typically used for storage of plant fuel, with bowser to be sufficiently grounded so that there is no risk of an imbalance and toppling over, thus reducing the potential hazard of damage to the environment. 
As the UK narrowly avoids a recession, many employers are still recruiting, with many having hard-to-fill vacancies, 2 in 5 employers (42%) report having problems filling vacancies, particularly within education and healthcare. 
This situation is expected to continue for the next 6 months. With the Office for National Statistics reporting 1.1 million vacancies in December 2022 to February 2023. 
 
To combat these recruitment problems employers have responded by upskilling more existing staff and raising wages. Average pay growth for the private sector is reported as being 6.9% (ONS). In the future, employers are also looking to improve job quality, this may include offering better contracts, for example, guaranteed hours, improving work-life balance through offering flexibility, improving relationships at work, introducing wellbeing programmes, improving benefits offered 
The HSE website states that asbestos can be found in buildings erected before the year 2000 and causes up to 500 deaths per year. 
The release of asbestos fibres can cause a great deal of damage to those exposed to it. Emergency procedures must be put in place to limit the potential damage caused. 
 
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 is specifically designed to handle the management and working with asbestos in the workplace in order to reduce its severity to all workers in the area. Regulation 15 outlines the arrangements to deal with any accidents, incidents and emergencies pertaining to the accidental release of asbestos fibres. 
 
Should an accidental release occur, the employer must make sure that procedures have been put in place for such an emergency, such as the use of safety drills. Information pertaining to the emergency must always be made available for everyone on site and put into effect in an emergency. 
The development of a construction site may interfere with the presence of any plant and animal life in the surrounding area. 
There are species of plant and animal life in England including their habitats which are protected by law. What can or cannot be done in relation to this can vary. 
 
Protected species are provided with the highest level of protection. This includes: all species of bats; beavers; great crested newts; hazel or common dormice; otters; natterjack toads; some species of reptiles; some species of protected plants; large blue butterflies and sturgeons. 
 
Doing any of the following towards protected species would be considered breaking the law: 
The HSE states that first aid in the workplace can mean life or death depending on how immediate the securement of first aid is and its implementation in an accident or incident. 
 
This is outlined in the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 which places it as the employer’s duty to provide the relevant, adequate and appropriate equipment, facilities and personnel for which to treat injured employees in the event of an incident. 
 
A first aid assessment must be carried out in order to ensure that the necessary equipment and responsibilities are provided in the worksite. 
A first aid box must be provided onsite at all times with the necessary tools and contents needed in accordance with the first aid assessment. The number of first aid boxes will vary on the size of the site. Their contents must be sufficient and appropriate to the work performed. 
Contents may include: 
• A leaflet providing guidance to general first aid 
• Sterile plasters 
• Sterile eye pads 
• Safety pins 
• Triangular bandages, preferably sterile 
• Disposable gloves 
• Medium and large sterile unmedicated wound dressings 
The HSE website defines lone workers as those working by themselves without any immediate or direct supervision, such as health workers, engineers, people working alone in an office and those who work at home. 
Those who work alone are at greater risk of harm than with other people such as supervisors and fellow operatives, who would be able to prevent or reduce the severity of potential hazards in the workplace. Workers visiting a residential property could also be at threat of any risks when working alone, due to the presence of unknown people which could potentially present issues. 
 
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations require that the risks towards lone workers are considered. 
 
The HSE website states that all varied waste on work sites must be segregated to ensure the health and safety to all personnel on site. 
There are laws enforced by the Environment Agency and Local Authorities regarding the proper disposal of waste, including the categories that they fall under. In general, “all waste produced can also present a real safety hazard to workers on site if it is not properly managed throughout the project”. 
 
Before work starts, the management of waste disposal must be decided “in a timely and effective manner”, as well as who will be responsible regarding the collection and disposal of the specific types of waste, providing that the company and individuals are fully aware of these duties. All workers must be made aware of the types of waste, the hazards from mixing them and the proper means of segregation. 

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