European Health and Safety Week – Monday 19 – Sunday 25 October 2015

European Health and Safety Week – Monday 19 – Sunday 25 October 2015: 

European Health and Safety Week takes place in October each year and is designed to raise awareness of health and safety.

 

The European Agency for Safety and Health describes the week as: “Aimed at people in organisations, companies and workplaces of all sizes and sectors. Everybody involved in occupational safety and health matters is invited to take part, especially safety and health institutions and occupational insurance organisations, trade unions and employers’ organisations, companies, managers, employees and safety representatives.”

 

Health and Safety Week 2015 will take place in the third week of October (Monday 19 – Sunday 25 October). Make sure you put this date in your diary now! The theme is workplace stress and the TUC has produced guidance on how to deal with it. The guide

is attached.

 

The week is run by the European Agency for Safety and Health who have published a website full of news, materials and activities. In the UK the week is being coordinated by the Health and Safety Executive.

 

The TUC will be undertaking a number of initiatives during the week.

 

National Inspection Day

The Wednesday of European Health and Safety Week (21st October) is traditionally National Inspection Day when all safety representatives are encouraged to inspect their workplace. The TUC has produced a simple guide to workplace safety inspections. The guide is attached and includes forms, adapted from the HSE recommended forms, and a checklist.

 

Risk Assessment

A properly managed workplace should be both safe and healthy. The law says that every employer has a responsibility to undertake Risk Assessments to identify risks and take reasonably practical measures to eliminate or minimise them. The TUC has produced a

Union Safety Reps guide to Risk Assessment. The Guide is attached and is designed to ensure that Safety Reps have the necessary tools to ensure their employer has done a suitable risk assessment, as well as taken appropriate measures to implement the measures required.

 

Stress is the UK’s Top Health and Safety Concern, Say Union Safety Reps

The 11th biennial TUC survey of union health and safety representatives, found the top-five cited hazards were stress, bullying and harassment, overwork, back strains and slips, trips and falls on a level. In top place was Work Related Stress.

 

Over 400,000 people suffer from stress related illnesses caused by their work every year. The Stressed Out survey by the Samaritans, the UK emotional support charity, found: “People’s jobs are the single biggest cause of stress… with over a third (36 per cent) of Briton’s citing it as one of their biggest stressors.” Our hearts and minds can face intolerable pressures from work. Overwork, bullying, low job control and satisfaction, job insecurity, new ways of working, poor work organisation and pace of work can all cause work stress.

 

The mental symptoms of stress range from sleeplessness and listlessness through to clinical depression and suicide. The physical effects range from appetite loss and nausea through to heart damage and stroke. A workplace with a lot of stress may suffer from high absenteeism, higher risk of accidents, industrial relations problems, demotivation and high labour turnover. The HSE have produced Management Standards on how employers should tackle workplace stress. In the absence of specific legislation, these standards, based on the risk assessment approach, are seen as the most useful method of tackling stress in the workplace. The TUC has produced guidance for safety representatives on these Standards. The guide is attached and explains what safety representatives need to do to ensure that their employer takes effective measures to reduce stress.

 

European Agency for Safety and Health

The EU Agency for Safety and Health at Work, works to make European workplaces safer, healthier and more productive workplace across all European Union states for the benefit of businesses, employees and governments, promoting a culture of risk prevention to improve working conditions in Europe and promoting an employer/trade union joint approach and strongly supporting Trade Union Safety Reps. It has a section on its website dedicated to the EU Health and Safety two-year campaign and EU Health and Safety week.

 

The Link is:- https://www.healthy-workplaces.eu/en

 

Employers

All main employers have been written to regarding joint support and joint participation in EU Health & Safety Week.

 

Yours sincerely

 
 

Dave Joyce

National Health, Safety & Environment Officer