Tel 01204 772977 or 07792 400 503
Comply at Work Upcoming Courses
P2-3
Washing PPE
P4-5
New ISO 45001
P6-7
Do HSE Inspectors have the Summer off?
P8-9
In the Spotlight
P10
August 2016
P2 | Safety Snippets
Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
Comply at Work OUR UPCOMING TRAINING COURSES‌. Ask us about our special offers: Pick n mix sessions, free seminars and discounts for retained clients.
Emergency First Aid at Work Level 2 Fri 19th August and Mon 19th September Manual Handling and Asbestos Pick and Mix Session Date TBC Face Fit Testing and Train the Trainer Fri 23 September CIEH level 2 Award in Health and Safety Date TBC
Please register your interest in any of the above courses as soon as possible to ensure a place.
e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Safety Snippets | P3
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Note: Our next Face Fit Testing Session and Train the Trainer - FFT is running on Friday 23 September. Please are limited please contact us as soon as possible for details and register your interest.
P4 | Safety Snippets
Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
Comply at Work
Personal Protective Equipment: Do we need to wash PPE? If you supply protective clothing it may well be because you expect employees’ outerwear to become dirty or contaminated. Asking staff to take it home to be washed might therefore be a risky move. Possible concerns include exposure to hazardous substances, the cost to employees, wear and tear on their machine, etc.
The laundering of personal protective equipment (PPE) is covered by the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 . Regulation 7 states, “Every employer shall ensure that any personal protective equipment provided to his employees is maintained (including replaced and cleaned as appropriate) in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair” http://www.hse.gov.uk/toolbox/ppe.htm
Must you pay?
The Regulation doesn’t forbid home laundering and with the right safeguards in place it is legal to do so. The question is whether it’s the best option or indeed necessary.
Tip 1. Although electricity prices and machine efficiency varies, costs at the generous end of the scale per wash might be: electricity 40p; detergent 30p; machine deterioration 30p; dryer for one hour, 50p. This gives a total of £1.50 per wash.
What to do Firstly, you must consider if it is safe for staff to take the clothing home. That will depend on the potential for them (and family members) to be exposed to hazardous substances during laundering. The second question is whether you are achieving the level of cleaning required via a home wash. Guidance to the Regulations tells us to consider the need for “disinfection if appropriate” . This might be achieved, for example, by hot washing. Tip 1. If you believe home washing is appropriate and you want to continue with it, include the requirement in contracts of employment.
Payment is an area in which the law is very clear. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers may not charge or cause charges to be made to employees in relation to health and safety requirements. It is therefore necessary to reimburse the costs incurred in cleaning PPE.
Tip 2. Although £1.50 seems inexpensive, if your PPE is heavily contaminated with oils or other material we would suggest that you install a machine at work. This avoids all the concerns associated with sending it home.
To summarise: There’s no legal requirement to launder or pay for the costs of cleaning uniforms, only protective clothing. If you need any further advice on this matter or any other issue in regard to PPE, please let us know:
Tip 2. Provide washing guidelines to avoid damaging the PPE and achieve the level of cleaning you require. Note. As not everyone is diligent in washing their laundry, carry out spot checks to ensure that your policy is being followed. Source: Indicator
e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Safety Snippets | P5
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Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
Comply at Work
Management Systems New ISO 45001 standard for safety ISO 45001 has been produced to provide organisations with a framework that is designed to help them to identify health and safety risks and apply appropriate control measures). In summary, it helps organisations to follow a structured approach to reducing risks and maintaining legal compliance. This new standard will help the business to follow a similar approach to health and safety management as the 2015 versions of ISO 14001 (Environment) and ISO 9001(Quality) do for their respective topics. In May 2016 it was announced that the new standard is likely to be delayed. The published plan was to introduce it in October 2016; however, it looks as though this will be delayed until some point in 2017. Note. If your health and safety systems are certified to the OHSAS 18001 standard, the transition to the new one should be fairly simple. This is because much of the content of ISO 45001 is based on the OHSAS standard. Tip. It’s not mandatory for you to implement a formal management system. However, if you work for large organisations, some may require you to do so. If you need any advice or guidance on implementing any of the ISO standards into your Organisation, please get in touch to discuss your requirements and a no obligation quote. Source: Indicator
e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Safety Snippets | P7
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Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
Comply at Work
Q&A
Do HSE inspectors have the Summer off? Q. A colleague has informed us that HSE inspectors have similar holidays to teachers, i.e. they take about six weeks off in the summer months. Is this really the case? A. We’re sure that many inspectors would be happy with a six-week break in July and August, but they don’t get this as standard. Inspectors are out and about 52 weeks of the year. Don’t be caught out – we are here to help. Please contact us for advice and guidance on any Health and Safety issue.
Source: Indicator
e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Safety Snippets | P9
Comply at Work
in the spotlight Congratulations to our retained Clients, K Darlington & Son Ltd, Adlington and D Shawcross Roofing Ltd, Wigan in achieving the CHAS accreditation:
We would also like to welcome our new clients: Carrs Pasties, Bolton Advance Security Systems Ltd Diamond Interiors Ltd, Wigan AMF Bruns Ltd, Trafford Park JVF Decorators, Leigh Zenith Lawyers, Blackburn
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