Safety inspection void exposed by TUC
New TUC research has found that almost half of UK workplaces
have never had a health and safety inspection.
Describing the oversight in health & safety inspections as
'a scandal,' the TUC highlighted the risk to employees.
A visit from an inspector is the best way to ensure that
employers comply with health and safety laws, said the union body.
The biennial survey also found that nine per cent of workplaces had
not been inspected for over three years.
Small businesses employing under 50 staff were the worst
affected, with just 16 per cent having received an inspection
within the last year.
Thirty-three per cent of large companies employing over 1,000
staff had been inspected within that time period.
The TUC said that the threat of a visit was enough to make
employers ensure they were fulfilling their health & safety
duties.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said, “Knowing that an
inspector is likely to visit is one of the key drivers to changing
employers' behaviour and making the workplace safer and
healthier.
“A cut of at least 35 per cent in the Health and Safety
Executive's budget will have a very damaging impact on safety in UK
workplaces,” he added.