NASC RESPONDS TO GOVERNMENT’S PROPOSED SCRAPPING OF THE WORK AT HEIGHT REGULATIONS

The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, which seeks to remove approximately 2,400 EU-derived laws that currently remain on the UK statute book following Brexit, is currently passing through Parliament. If the Bill passes, the Work at Height Regulations 2005 will be automatically revoked. Here, the National Access and Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) outline their opposition to the proposals.

[ WE BELIEVE that the Work at Height Regulations are not only fundamental to the scaffolding and access industry, but equally important to anyone who is required to work at height during the course of their job. It is estimated that some one million companies and 10 million personnel are required to carry out operations involving work at height each year. This encompasses everyone from construction workers and steeplejacks to teaching assistants and shop workers.

Whilst historically falls from height remain one of the biggest causes of fatalities and major injuries within the UK, the introduction of the Work at Height Regulations in 2005 provided a positive ‘stepchange’ in safety standards. The year before the regulations were introduced (2003-4) 67 fatalities occurred due to falls from height. Last year the number was reduced to 29 and whilst it is appreciated that there is still progress to be made, the effectiveness of the Work at Height Regulations is clearly demonstrated by these statistics.

The current regulations set out the essential requirements for managing risks and provide simple rules to prevent people and objects falling from height. They provide life saving principles such as the need to eliminate work at height where this is reasonably practicable and prioritise measures for fall prevention over personal protection.

The Work at Height Regulations have provided levels of safety which have stood the test of time, being active for some 17 years now, without the need for any fundamental amendment.

What will happen if the Bill passes?

If the Bill passes without excluding the Work at Height Regulations, this legislation could be automatically repealed on 31 December 2023, without any consultation or parliamentary scrutiny. There are options to postpone the repeal, but only until June 2026, or a new set of regulations could be introduced. However, by law, these cannot be more burdensome than the current requirements and the likelihood is that the new requirements will offer less protection to workers.

That is why it is so important to act now. It is a crucial time for anyone involved in work at height or with an interest in workers’ safety to speak up for the protections that have been afforded to us for so long.

What can we do to save them?

With grave concerns for workers’ safety, the NASC have written to the Government urging them to exclude the Work at Height Regulations from the proposed Bill and retain the existing regulations. Please help us and others within the industry by joining the campaign to save the Work at Height Regulations. Write to your MP and ask for the Work at Height Regulations to be assimilated into UK law and to exclude them from the EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill.

Share this news with colleagues, customers and your social media network to help raise awareness of what could be coming our way. The message is clear: we must save the Work at Height Regulations and prevent needless falls from height occurring in the future. q