A recent report by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has suggested that some companies in the UK could be cutting back on health and safety checks in order to save money. Many are worried that such action could have a tragic consequence in the workplace.
Nearly half of businesses go unchecked
The study found that nearly 45 per cent of companies had not been checked by the relevant health and safety authorities. A further 10 per cent of respondents said that it had been three years since their last visit.
The report surveyed 1,875 safety officers in the firms, leading the TUC’s general secretary, Brendan Barber to say:
“Unions campaigning to improve workplace safety are clearly going to have their work cut out in the coming year.”
The importance of health & safety jobs
It is essential that employers take health and safety seriously and have their own staff or external providers to conduct regular inspections. It is not just up to those with health and safety officer jobs to spot issues.
In the UK in 2011, thousands of people were taken ill or injured because of their work. Furthermore, over 170 people were killed because of work related incidents in the same period.
Stress is a building problem
The TUC report also showed that rising levels of stress could be compromising workplace safety. With cuts in staff members, stalled wages, pay cuts and the threat of redundancy, stress levels are gradually building.
Professionally trained health and safety professionals can help address these issues too. However, this is something not generally tackled by businesses. Across the continent, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work found that nearly 75 per cent of firms do not currently have policies in place to help staff manage stress levels.