Self-Employed Law Changes – 1st October 2015 Health and safety law will no longer apply to 1.7 million self-employed people tomorrow, following a recommendation from Professor Löfstedt in his review of health and safety law in the UK. In 2011, the Löfstedt Review recommended that self-employed people whose work activities pose no potential risk of...
A bus driver, who had been involved in two previous crashes after losing consciousness at the wheel, will not be prosecuted over a third crash which led to the death of a colleague, the Crown Office has said. First Bus driver David Logue, 47, twice had his licence reinstated following crashes in 1998 and 2008,...
A company director has been sentenced following the death of a young worker, who died on his second day at work, after a trench collapsed in on him. Despite the effort of rescuers who dug for 15 minutes to free him, 24-year-old Callum Osborne died of traumatic asphyxia at the scene. Wayne Cooper, 40, director...
Over the past 10 years there have been over 1,000 recorded injuries in the UK as a result of contact with underground electricity cables. Over a third of these incidents have been on construction or demolition sites with the remainder on public highways, footpaths, domestic premises and gardens. Damage can result from excavation or penetration...
Back in the 1980s there was a dramatic shift in the perception of waste. It went from being something that was simply disposed of to becoming a resource. This, in turn, gave rise to a disposal hierarchy and the “reduce, reuse, recycle and dispose” mantra that we are now familiar with. Skip forward 30 years…...
The next 12 months will be a busy one for WA Management as changes are a foot across the board. The largest changes we expect are the revisions to the ISO 9001 standard and the CDM (Construction Design and Management) Regulations. Both are expected to be significant and will mean a large percentage of our...
Many professionals in the construction industry are waking up to the risks posed by airborne dust particles, but there’s no doubt that awareness of the issue among some remains worryingly limited. Tom Gunston considers the health effects brought about by silica-dust exposure and explores the potential control measures. An understanding of the dangers posed by...
A specialist asbestos removal company has been fined after it exposed workers to dangerous fibres during the demolition of a former school building. The company was found guilty of eight breaches of asbestos regulations after they inadequately failed to safeguard workers against the risks posed by asbestos. Lincoln Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday (27 May) that...
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) have balloted members who have voted in support of industrial action. The Government response to this industrial action has been coordinated by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) in close liaison with the Scottish and Welsh Government. These Departments have been working with Local Fire and Rescue Authorities...
The 2014 World Cup kicked off in Brazil last week however the stadium wasn’t finished in time for the opening ceremony. The construction companies overseeing the World Cup stadia are scrabbling to finish the job.The consensus among both international observers, and the Brazilian people themselves, is that the government has bitten off more than it...