Spotlight on Health and Safety

News from NIPSA Health & Safety Committee

Deregul at e

e t a l u g e r e D e t la l u g e r e D

Will HSENI follow HSE’s lead?

Spotlight Focus

this Month

●● NIPSA Health and Safety Conference 2014 ●● Don’t get sick! ●● World Mental Health Day ●● Safety Reps Checklist on Asbestos ●● New and expectant mothers in the workplace ●● Bullying in the Workplace

October 2014

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October 2014

From legal code to ‘guidance’ Will HSENI follow HSE and devalue the current ACOP to a watered down ‘nice to have’ guidance?

The latest round in the Deregulation agenda being proposed by the HSENI is in its consultation (which closed on 15th September 2014) to withdraw the Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) for the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (MHSWR) 1999 and replace it with a new suite of lower level guidance produced by HSE (GB).

NIPSA in its response to this consultation are calling on the HSENI not to slavishly follow what is happening in Britain but instead to work collaboratively in the development of Northern Ireland specific MHSWR ACOP.

This can only reflect the pressure being brought to bear by the Coalition Government to cut red tape and tackle what David Cameron views as “pointless, burdensome and costly regulations on business people.” It was this pressure that forced HSE (GB) to ignore the views of the large majority of respondents who wanted to keep this ACOP and pushed ahead with this deregulation agenda. “pointless, burdensome and costly regulations on business people.”

We made it clear in our submission that we would not accept the downgrading of one of the pillars in our health and safety system to a “nice to have” status in the form of guidance.

The MHSWR ACOP imposes the requirement to conduct a risk assessment, consult with health and safety representatives on the risk assessment and to manage the risks identified, therefore to dilute this requirement to a lower level legal status we argued was totally unacceptable. A copy of NIPSA’s full submission can be accessed from the website at https://www.nipsa.org.uk/NIPSAin-Action/Health-and-Safety/ Consultations/NIPSA-responseto-HSENI

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Spotlight on Health and Safety

Targeting Work Related Stress

HEALTH

SAFETY CONFERENCE 2014 and

2014 NIPSA Health and Safety Conference will focus on the pressures employees face in today’s workforce Stress still remains the number one health and safety problem reported by NIPSA Health and Safety reps.

The harsh economic climate, austerity-related job cuts and job loss fears amongst those still in work is having a real impact on the health and well-being of workers.

And with thousands of more jobs at risk in the public sector as a result of the Government’s latest round of spending cuts the scale of the problem will intensify.

Presenteeism has reached epidemic proportions as workers are so reluctant to take time off, even when they are genuinely unwell. Anxieties about a heavy workload, risk of redundancy and criticism from their colleagues are cited as the main reasons why members are not taking sick leave that they need and there is no doubt this is exacerbating certain conditions that are stress-related.

The latest new management buzzword “resilience” is forcing workers to be more able to withstand stress

rather than attacking the root of the problem to make workplaces healthier.

This year’s health and safety conference, which is taking place during European Health and Safety week on Monday 20th October 2014, will be tackling all these issues and explaining the important role health and safety reps have to play in ensuring an employer takes their responsibilities seriously. It will also show dealing with stress that health and safety is not divorced from the rest of the union’s industrial activity and can help to improve other aspects of industrial relations and the working environment.

Information on the conference and nomination forms to be a delegate and elected to the Health and Safety Committee have been issued to branches and are available from the NIPSA website: https:// www.nipsa.org.uk/NIPSA-in-Action/Health-andSafety/Health-and-Safety-Conference

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October 2014

Workers can no longer afford to be sick The sickness levels within the public service have for many years been the subject of media scrutiny.

The attention it has been given in the media however never relates to the pressures of working in a non profit organisation that has continually had its funding reduced while workloads have increased. Public servants are now falling victim to stringent Managing Attendance policies. These policies in no way address the reasons behind the high sickness levels in the public sector but are being used as a means to get rid of staff on the grounds of “inefficiency”. The Managing Attendance policy identifies stringent trigger points and these triggers are being used to initiate warnings irrespective of the person’s underlying medical condition, disability or other reason(s) for absence.

What are the Health and Safety implications of such a stringent Managing Attendance policy? The greatest problem that this type of policy results in is that staff will attend work while they are sick.

Staff are attending work with viral infections, flu’s and colds. These infections are then spread throughout the office environment but staff are so afraid of the implications of hitting the trigger points under the Managing Attendance policy that they feel they have no other option but to be at work while they are sick. A common sentiment among staff would be” I need to save my sick until I’m too sick to attend work”. Unfortunately, however this has become the case, one member of staff who had been suffering repeated viral infections and had attributed this to their position working in a public facing role, ended up hospitalised with pneumonia. Staff are also using their annual leave entitlement to deal with sickness and disability related absences so they do not come under the radar of the Managing Attendance policy leaving them with little or no quality time off throughout their working year.

Annual leave is an entitlement afforded to employees to ensure that they have adequate time off work during the year. It is meant to be a time for employees to remove themselves from the working environment both physically and mentally. It is envisaged that this type of leave rejuvenates workers and reduces stress levels. It also gives employees time to engage in activities that they would otherwise be unable to engage in while they are at work.

The main purpose of absence provisions included within an absence agreement should be to promote employee welfare and rehabilitation rather than merely punishing individuals or forcing them back to work before they are fully recovered. Management should not assume that all employees want to abuse sickness procedures or imply that no one is justified in being ill, and the agreement should reflect these views. As a safety rep you will be in a better position than management to identity employees’ needs and so should be involved with management in developing non-disciplinary assistance, support and where appropriate counselling for employees’ to return to work.

Spotlight on Health and Safety

World Mental Health Day 10th October 2014 This will come as no great surprise to many people.

It’s not hard to make the connection between the economic climate and the nation’s mental wellbeing.

When jobs are under threat, pay packets are being frozen and workloads are increasing, employees’ mental health is being affected.

In 2013, the mental health charity Mind reported work to be the biggest cause of stress in people’s lives, with one in three people (34%) saying that their work life was either very or quite stressful. It found that work outranked debt and financial problems (30%) and health (17%) as the major cause of stress.

Its survey of over 2,000 people found that workplace stress has resulted in 7% of people having suicidal thoughts (rising to 10% among 18 to 24 year olds), and one in five people (18%) developing anxiety. More than half (57%) said they drink after work, and one in seven (14%) drink during the working day to cope with workplace stress and pressure. Other coping mechanisms people cited were smoking (28%), taking antidepressants (15%), over the counter sleeping aids (16%) and prescribed sleeping tablets (10%).

Mind also found that a culture of fear and silence about stress and mental health problems is costly for employers. It reported that: ●● One in five workers (19%) take a day off sick because of stress, but 90% of those people cited a different reason for their absence; ●● One in 10 (9%) have resigned from a job due to stress and one in four (25%) have considered resigning due to work pressure; ●● Of the 22% who had a diagnosed mental health problem, less than half had actually told their boss about their diagnosis.

In addition, 45% of workers reported that staff are expected to cope without mentioning stress at work, and 31% said that they would not be able to talk openly to their line manager if they felt stressed.

The charity also found that employers are not doing enough to tackle stress in the workplace. Over half of managers (56%) said they would like to do more to improve staff mental wellbeing but they needed more training and/or guidance. And almost half (46%) said

they would like to do more but it is not a priority in their organisation.

Mind also found a huge disparity between the perceptions of managers and other workers. While only 22% of those surveyed felt that their boss took active steps to help them manage stress, more than two-thirds of managers (68%) appeared to believe that they were doing enough to support staff.

Only 36% of workers in the survey thought that looking after staff mental wellbeing was an organisational priority, while 42% believed that in their workplace stress is regarded as a sign of weakness or not coping.

Only a third (32%) thought time off for stress was treated as seriously as time off for physical illness, while 42% believe that stress is seen as an “excuse” for something else.

On World Mental Health Day we call on all Branch Health and Safety Reps to ensure mental health in the workplace is placed on the agenda of their workplace Health and Safety Committee meetings and for a proper mental health strategy, including a mental health policy, to be developed that will create a working environment that encourages mental wellbeing.

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October 2014

Safety Reps Checklist on

asbesto

The following checklist is a guide to the key issues holders (mostly employers, but sometimes building

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Have you checked whether asbestos is present in your buildings?

A survey/inspection has been planned for ‌. (date); A survey/inspection has been done to find materials that might have asbestos in them; An expert has checked and confirmed whether or not the materials have asbestos in them; or It has been assumed that unknown materials contain asbestos.

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How are you warning people who might work on or damage the asbestos in your buildings?

Workers are told where the asbestos is and whether the asbestos is damaged or undamaged; Workers are given a plan with this information on; Workers are told the building may contain asbestos and they should treat the material as if it does; or Workers have been/will be given awareness training so that they do not disturb/damage the asbestos and know what to do if they find damaged material.

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os

s health and safety representatives should be asking duty g owners etc), and the responses that you should get.

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Have you got a record or drawing which clearly shows where in your buildings the asbestos is and what condition it is in?

Building and maintenance workers are told where the asbestos is before they start any work; or

This will be done when the survey/inspection is finished.

The asbestos is regularly checked every year to make sure it has not deteriorated or been damaged.

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How are you checking that your management systems that are meant to prevent exposure to asbestos actually work and continue to do so?

Any changes in the use of the building or the condition of the asbestos are dealt with.

The badly damaged asbestos has been removed, or sealed to stop fibres being released;

A nominated person controls maintenance work;

A register has been drawn up listing all the asbestos materials and their condition; or

Spot checks are done to make sure the building/maintenance worker is getting the right information and working safely; or

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The undamaged asbestos has been labelled/colour coded;

A record or drawing showing where it is and what it looks like has been done;

The arrangements to control the risk are periodically reviewed as a matter of course;

How are you managing the asbestos in your buildings?

If the duty-holder cannot answer your questions, or gives you another answer, then “Warning Bells” should sound.

Remember!

As a Safety Rep you have a right to this information and to be consulted about what your employer is doing to manage the risks of asbestos exposure.

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October 2014

Advice for new and expec The Health and Safety Executive (NI) describes a new and expectant mother as a woman who is pregnant or has given birth in the last six months or is breastfeeding.

Being pregnant doesn’t mean you can’t work, but the law provides extra protection for the health and safety needs of new and expectant mothers.

To ensure that new/expectant mothers get access to this extra legal protection as soon as possible, they must tell their employers they are pregnant at an early stage. This is even more important if they have health and safety concerns about their work.

Certain types of workplace risk pose more risks to new/expectant mothers. Employers should pay particular attention to:

biological or physical agents. Once a health and safety risk has been identified the employer needs to take steps to remove that risk.

Where the risk can’t be removed an employer has to take one of the following three steps to help control that risk: ●● Make a temporary change to a new or expectant mother’s working hours; ●● Provide suitable alternative work for the same pay; or ●● Suspend the new or expectant mother from work with pay for as long as required for her own health and safety as well as her child’s.

●● Exposure to infections;

The HSE has issued online guidance on the kinds of precautions an employer can take depending on the work being done.

●● Standing up for long periods;

Examples include:

●● Lifting and other physical work;

●● Heat; ●● Excessive working hours; ●● Lone working; ●● Work-related stress; ●● Exposure to lead, and certain other chemicals such as drugs and pesticides; ●● The threat of violence in the workplace.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (NI) 2000 (MHSWR) require an employer to assess health and safety risks that their employees are exposed to at work. Once the risks have been identified, the employer has to put in place appropriate health and safety measures to remove, reduce or control those risks.

There are specific provisions on risk assessments for new and expectant mothers covered by Regulations 16 and 18 of the MHSWR. Regulation 16 requires an employer to consider health and safety risks to a new or expectant mother and/or her baby, once they have written notification that she is pregnant or has given birth in the past six months, or that she is breastfeeding.

Potential workplace health and safety risks include any working process or conditions, chemical,

●● Putting the worker on light duties if the role involves manual handling; ●● Letting a worker sit down if the job involves standing; and ●● Flexible rostering so that a worker can come in late if she suffers from morning sickness or so she can avoid a busy rush hour.

The risk assessment should also be reviewed by the employer where, for example, there has been a significant change when an expectant mother returns to work after giving birth.

A new/expectant mother can do night work provided that it is not a risk to her health and safety.

Regulation 17 of the MHSWR covers the specific situation where a new/expectant mother works at night and has produced a medical certificate from a registered GP or midwife saying that she should not be working at night.

The new/expectant mother has the legal right to be suspended from work for her health and safety for as long as it is required.

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations (NI) 1993 cover new/expectant mothers.

Regulation 25 says that an employer should provide

Spotlight on Health and Safety

ctant mothers at work suitable rest areas for expectant mothers and a new mother who is breastfeeding.

The HSE online guidance says that it is not suitable for new mothers to use toilets for expressing milk.

Employers should provide a private, healthy and safe environment for employees to express and store milk, although there is no legal requirement to do this.

The Sex Discrimination (NI) Order 1976 makes it unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of pregnancy or maternity including discrimination against a new mother because she is breastfeeding. Pregnancy refers to an expectant mother, and the term “maternity” refers to the period after the birth and up to 26 weeks.

Under the Agency Workers Regulations (NI) 2011, agency workers have the same rights to use shared facilities provided by the hirer as a permanent member of staff.

These could include, for example, a mother and baby room, a staff room or an on-site crèche.

Agency workers are also protected against sex discrimination during pregnancy and after childbirth, which includes protection from less favourable treatment due to breastfeeding.

If a new or expectant mother is worried that her employer’s work is risking her safety or damaging her health, she should contact her union rep who can help raise the problems with her employer.

A GP is also entitled to contact an employer about a pregnant woman’s health concerns at work.

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October 2014

Bullying in the Work intensity is changing and has been changing over the last number of years. “A managerial offensive is taking place at work”. Professor Phil Taylor of the University of Strathclyde Business School explains how a government blitz on employment rights and welfare, driven by a spurious austerity argument is being mirrored in a new workplace tyranny and a massive intensification of work.

“The reality today for very many workers is acute insecurity, intolerable pressure and mental ill health. Although this offensive has several distinct elements notably lean working, performance management, these are often experienced seamlessly by workers as an integrated assault”.

Hazards November 2013, number 123.

From the above workplaces have become busier, more stressful environments, and with change taking place this becomes much greater. This may be one of the contributing factors to bullying in the workplace.

Definition of Bullying There is no legal definition of bullying.

However it is accepted that bullying comprises “offensive, abusive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour which amounts to an abuse of power, which makes the recipient feel upset, threatened, humiliated or vulnerable.

It undermines the ability and confidence of the person who suffers from and it may cause them to suffer stress”. Unlike harassment, bullying is not instigated on the basis of a person’s social identity (e.g. gender, religion etc).

NIPSA, A Guide to Dignity at Work.

Bullying can sometimes be very obvious if the bully is being rude or arguing with someone, but it can also be more insidious or subtle. Ignoring or excluding someone, and their contribution, unacceptable criticism and overloading people with work are other forms of bullying.

Bullying can make working life miserable, cause people to lose faith in themselves, erode confidence, make people feel ill, depressed and become demotivated.

Bullying isn’t always caused by peoples’ tribal instincts or someone picking on the weak, sometimes a person’s strength in the workplace can make the bully feel threatened, and this could trigger their bullying behaviour.

Many forms of behaviour can constitute bullying. Here are some examples: ●● Repeatedly shouting or swearing in public or private; ●● Public humiliation; ●● Persistent criticism; ●● Constantly undervaluing effort; ●● Personal insults and name calling; ●● Persecution through fear or threats; ●● Dispensing unfair punishment out of the blue; ●● Increasing responsibility whilst decreasing authority; ●● Being overruled, ignored, marginalised or excluded; ●● Setting individuals up to fail; ●● Setting unrealistic deadlines for an increased workload; ●● Removing areas of responsibility and imposing menial tasks; ●● Deliberately sabotaging or impeding work performance; ●● Constantly changing guidelines;

Examples of Bullying

●● Withholding work-related information;

Bullies can be from any background, be of any race or gender, and of any grade.

●● Threatening to out someone as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

This list is not exhaustive.

Spotlight on Health and Safety

workplace The effects of unwanted, unreasonable and are exposed while at work, so that they can take appropriate preventative and protective measures. offensive behaviour: Impact on the recipient: ●● Feelings of humiliation, distress, anger; ●● Feelings of being devalued as a person; ●● Fatigue, stress, anxiety, depression, loss of confidence; ●● Deterioration of personal relationships; ●● Increased absenteeism; ●● Dread of work; ●● Inability to concentrate.

Impact on the workplace ●● An increase in absenteeism; ●● Unhealthy working climate and increased conflict amongst employees; ●● Reduced organisational effectiveness and performance; ●● Poor customer service; ●● Loss of experienced employees and increase in recruitment costs; ●● Increased risk of violence at the workplace; ●● Increased tribunal claims and therefore compensation payments and legal costs.

Under the Management of Health and Safety at work regulations employers are obliged to assess the risks to health and safety to which their employees

This applies to both physical and mental health.

If you feel you are being bullied don’t be ashamed to tell someone about how you are being treated. Bullying is serious and you need to let others know what is happening so that they can help you. By sharing your experiences you may discover is has happened to others and you are not alone. Keep a diary of incidents and dates, this is important as it allows you to have a record of events and an overview of the picture. Stay strong and remember their bullying reflects their weakness, not yours. Challenge their behaviour and tell them to stop.

If any member feels that they are being bullied at work you can contact you branch health and safety representative or other local branch representative for advice and assistance.

A copy of NIPSA, A Guide to Dignity at Work is available from NIPSA Headquarters or as a download from the NIPSA website at: https://www.nipsa.org.uk/NIPSAin-Action/Equal-Opportunities/Dignity-at-Work/NewDignity-at-Work-publication

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Health& Safety PUBLICATIONS

The latest publications from NIPSA Health and Safety Committee are available in print from NIPSA Headquarters and also available to download from the NIPSA website. Back issues of Spotlight and Spotlight eZines are also available from the NIPSA website: https://www.nipsa.org.uk/NIPSA-in-Action/ Health-and-Safety/Newsletters .org.uk

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dignity work A Guide to

Also Available

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We also have a new updated edition A Guide to Dignity at Work available from NIPSA Headquarters or a download from the NIPSA Website.

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Views expressed in this Newsletter are not, unless otherwise stated, the views of NIPSA.