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The BCC have written a report which challenges the current health and safety regulations. They believe that health and safety should be better balanced to avoid unnecessary burdens on businesses without jeopardising the safety of employees.
The BCC believe that there is an opportunity for the consolidation and simplification of numerous health and safety regulations, which would significantly reduce the compliance burden on businesses. There are currently 131 regulations relating to health and safety in the UK and as such, the BCC argue that the current stock of health and safety legislation distracts businesses from driving economic growth and creating employment.
The BCC strongly advocate health and safety and the need to maintain sensible rules to prevent serious accidents; however it is the imbalanced burden on businesses which they suggest needs to more considerate thought. This is not the first time that these suggestions have been put forward - in the "Government suggestions to health and safety procedures" blog posted several weeks ago, we outlined how the level of red tape associated with health and safety procedures has been proposed.
In a report entitled "Health and Safety: a risky business?" released recently, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) reveals that half of businesses identify health and safety "yellow tape" as a burden. While health and safety in the workplace is important, the volume and ambiguity of this regulation means that it is often misapplied, with small and medium-sized firms particularly affected.
Lord Young's 2010 report reviewed current legislation, but there has been too little done to implement its proposals. In a new survey of nearly 6,000 employers, carried out by the BCC, nearly half (47%) claimed regulation around health and safety issues was a burden on their business. A fifth of sole traders identified health and safety regulation as a barrier to taking on their first employee. The cumulative cost of health and safety regulation in the UK amounts to over £4 billion.
In its report, the British Chambers of Commerce makes the following recommendations around health and safety rules:
Commenting on the report, David Frost, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said:
"Health and safety regulation in the workplace is important, but it must be made more industry-specific. The UK has a good record on health and safety and preventing accidents at work. However, employers are dealing with a multitude of regulations that do not necessarily add to the safety of workers. The government's Red Tape Challenge lists 131 separate health and safety regulations. The sheer volume of rules causes confusion for employers, particularly amongst smaller firms without the resource to tackle this.
Good health and safety legislation is crucial in high-risk environments and must protect employees from genuinely dangerous hazards in the workplace. But time and time again, we hear of unnecessary and unreasonable examples of health and safety. For example, home workers are treated in the same way as those working onsite, with the employer forced to conduct ever-more elaborate and costly assessments of the employee's home environment.
Where regulation is irrelevant or misapplied, we are asking the government to consolidate and simplify. We welcome the government's Löfstedt's review into health and safety, and hope this will deliver for business. Only a straightforward and more proportionate system of health and safety regulation will make it easier for employers to comply, and allow them to focus on growing their businesses, driving employment and contributing to economic growth."
END OF REPORT.
As we blogged on the 26 April in 'Government suggestions to health and safety', it is clear that these thoughts are nothing new. It has previously been suggested that there is an imbalance in the level of health and safety bureaucracy placed upon different sized businesses. However, does this report and other others alike, underestimate or devalue an important topic where strict procedures need to be in place in order to safeguard our employees?
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