News

The Agency Workers Regulations (Northern Ireland) SR 2011/350 will come into force on 5 December 2011. They implement Directive 2008/104/EC, on the same subject, in order to ensure the protection of temporary agency workers by applying the principle of equal treatment. This means that the basic working and employment conditions (duration of working time, overtime, breaks, rest periods, night work, holidays, public holidays and pay) of temporary agency workers should be, for the duration of their employment, at least those that would apply if they had been recruited directly for the same job.

As a result, they amend the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) SR 2000/388, with regard to the:

• alteration of working conditions for new and expectant mothers;
• general provisions for agency workers.

The Environment Agency have launched a full investigation this week after a seven mile stretch of the River Crane in West London became polluted with raw sewage, killing around 3,000 fish. The incident happened on the afternoon of Sunday 30 November, with the sewage spilling into the river until early the next day.

The problem arose after a six-tonne valve became jammed during maintenance work in a major sewer that serves Heathrow Airport; sewage then became backed-up. The valve was eventually forced open by Thames Water using hydraulic equipment on Monday.

Although Thames Water worked to take large amounts of the backed-up sewage away by tanker, it became clear that they could not pump it all. They became faced with the "unpalatable" decision as to whether they should let the sewage back up into Heathrow airport, or spill it into the River Crane, a tributary to the River Thames. The decision was made to spill it into the river.

The Agency has been working to minimise further environmental damage by monitoring oxygen levels in the water and are also trying to remove dead fish from the water.

The Agency's Area Manager, Julia Simpson, said, "This is the most serious incident we have had on a tributary of the River Thames for several years. We worked around the clock to try and minimise the environmental damage from this incident, but today it is clear that stretch of the tributaries have been devastated. We have launched a full investigation into this devastating pollution which has caused the death of approximately 3,000 fish on seven miles of river."

For more information, see:

• Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations SI 2010/675.

The Wildlife and Natural Environment (Northern Ireland) Act 2011 began to come into force on 17 August 2011, and places a duty on public bodies to further the conservation of animals, plants and habitats when carrying out their functions, as well as requiring them to take steps to further the conservation of animals, plants and habitats included in lists published by the DoE NI.

It also brings Northern Ireland in line with the rest of the UK by making hare coursing illegal and specifies the fine that may be given to anyone involved in such an activity.

As a result, it makes considerable amendments to the:

• Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order SI 1985/171, in order to reflect the increasing significance of protecting Northern Ireland's biodiversity and the need to continue to deter wildlife crime;
• Environment (Northern Ireland) Order SI 2002/3153, in order to strengthen the regulatory regime for protecting Areas of Special Scientific Interest in Northern Ireland.

New figures published this month have revealed that the trend for falls in the number of people injured and made unwell at work in Britain has continued.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) statistics show that between April 2010 and March 2011:

• 24,726 major injuries were reported (amputations, fractures and burns) to employees - compared with 26,268 in 2009/10;
• 90,653 other injuries serious enough to keep people off work for four or more days were reported - down from 96,427 last year;
• an estimated 1.2 million people said they were suffering from an illness caused or made worse by their work - down from 1.3 million in 2009/10 (500,000 were new illnesses);
• 171 workers fatally injured - up from 147 the previous year.

The data confirms that Britain continues to have the lowest rate of fatal occupational injuries in Europe as well as one of the lowest levels of work-related ill health. Judith Hackitt, HSE's Chair, said, "The fall in the number of people being injured by work is of course to be welcomed but we did also see an increase in the number of fatalities during the year. Britain can be proud that it has one of the best health and safety records in Europe but as the increase in the number of fatalities makes clear we can never let up in our commitment to addressing the serious risks which continue to cause death and injury in workplaces. The HSE will continue to work with employers, employees and other organisations to maintain and, where necessary improve, health and safety standards. We all have a responsibility to make sure serious workplace risks are sensibly managed."

For more information on the statistics, go to http://cedr.ec/1a.

The union Unite has recently issued a safety rep alert around the current position with regards to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations SI 1995/3163 (RIDDOR).

The alert was issued following reports that some employers believed that a change in the law had already taken place in respect of when injuries should be reported. Unite points out that the change from the existing legal requirement to report injuries requiring over three days off work, to only those requiring over seven days off is still only a proposal.

The alert says, "The changes have not yet become law, and if these proposals are adopted by the Government the law is not likely to change before at least 1 April 2012. Even if the law on reporting changes from over three days to over seven day incapacitation, employers must still record over three days injuries."

Unite concludes, "Safety reps need to be alert to this and ensure that all injuries and incidents are reported to their employer, and as a minimum their employer keeps records in accordance with the continuing requirements of RIDDOR."

In August, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) board recommended to the Government that the absence period that triggers an accident report to the HSE or local authority under RIDDOR should increase from three days to seven days.

For more information, see:

• Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (Northern Ireland) SR 1997/455.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has challenged the construction industry in the UK to learn from the example of the construction of the London 2012 Olympic site in order to improve health and safety in the industry. This is following the first of a series of reports regarding the London 2012 learning legacy.

The Olympics Delivery Authority (ODA), which is responsible for the construction of the Olympics site in London, has apparently set an "exemplary" record in terms of health and safety. By October, in the 66 million hours that have been worked on the site, only 114 injuries have been reported.

The HSE and the ODA began working together after London was selected to host the Olympic and Paralympic games in 2012, and the HSE claim that the ODA's "top level commitment to health and safety was made clear from the outset and helped create a safe working environment for the thousands of workers on-site".

Stephen Williams, who is the HSE's Director for London 2012, said: "The report shows how strong leadership and worker involvement are key to a safer working environment. The ODA's creation of a no scapegoating culture allowed workers to raise issues without fear of reprisal, learning lessons to apply across the site and reducing the risk in hazardous activities."

He continued, "The construction industry has for many years been one of the most dangerous in which to earn a living. London 2012 is important because it shows it doesn't have to be that way. No matter what size your organisation, no matter what size your project, small changes in the way you operate can have a huge impact on the health and safety of your workers."

For more information, see:

• Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974;
• Construction (Head Protection) Regulations SI 1989/2209;
• Construction (Design and Management) Regulations SI 2007/320.