The UK’s landmark health and safety law – the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 – turned 50 this summer.
The world-leading health and safety law received Royal Assent on 31st July 1974 – which is now just over half a century ago.
A former Chief Executive and Senior Inspector from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Kevin Myers, says that, at the time, the Bill was “radical” and transformative.
Writing for the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), he explains that the Health and Safety at Work Act received all-party support, which “reflected the quality and persuasiveness of the Committee of Inquiry […].”
He reveals that this Committee “set out the new approach in a mighty two-volume report referred to ever since by the name of its chair – Lord Alfred Robens.”
Health and safety law turned ‘apathy’ into engagement
It seems that, 50 years ago, the key issue with workplace health and safety was “apathy.”
Robens noted that employers and employees were relying too much on state regulation and were not taking on enough “personal responsibility” or exhibiting “voluntary, self-generating effort,” to ensure workplace health, safety and welfare.
The new health and safety law and a regulatory body, then, were not enough on their own and needed to be supported through a third, independent pillar amounting to employee and worker engagement and collaboration, or, in Roben’s terms, “more effective self-regulation.”
The proposed solution was a more proactive approach from employers, trade bodies, unions, institutions and the state, with effective collaboration between all.
The new health and safety law was passed in July 1974, the Health and Safety Executive was established on 1st October 1974, and the Act officially came into force on 1st April 1975.
In the intervening 50 years, Myers argues, an occupational safety and health (OSH) system has developed to act as that “third pillar,” to ensure engagement and a sense of responsibility among employers and their workers.
He advocates a simple “down-to-earth approach” to health and safety law and workplace wellbeing: “Find problems, work together to fix them, reap the many benefits, share the knowledge and move on.”
Health and safety law remains fit for purpose
IOSH recently conducted an online poll asking whether the Health and Safety at Work Act remains fit for purpose now it has reached its golden anniversary.
More than 4 in 5 respondents (82%) agreed that the Act remains relevant, but many voiced concerns that health and safety law needs updating to reflect modern working practices.
In the year that the Health and Safety at Work Act was introduced, 651 people lost their lives at work. Last year, this figure was 138.
This is surely a sign of success – but IOSH emphasises the fact that the fall in workplace fatalities has plateaued over the last decade, with the number of annual deaths at work remaining broadly similar for years.
This indicates that more still needs to be done, and IOSH argues that the UK must be proactive on health and safety law and regulation to ensure “a continued drive to prevent harm at work.”
Ruth Wilkinson, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at the professional OSH body, says Britain’s flagship health and safety law “has certainly played a significant role in making workplaces safer and healthier since 1974 […].”
She added:
“But 138 people died in workplace accidents last year. And the most recent figures from the Health and Safety Executive showed 1.8 million reported they were suffering from work-related ill-health, half of them saying they had stress, depression or anxiety. This is costing the economy many billions of pounds and, crucially, impacting on people’s lives.
“That’s why we are calling on the Government to ensure laws and regulation – and their application and enforcement – reflect modern working practices and a changing world of work, to ensure new and emerging hazards and risks being created by new technologies and climate change are managed and people are protected.”
A safe and healthy future of work
IOSH published the Towards a safe and healthy future of work report in April this year to explore potential future risks for people’s health, safety and wellbeing at work, including those related to technological advances, climate change and new ways of working.
The report poses a number of ‘what-if’ questions in order to highlight to governments, businesses and the health and safety profession that action is required to ensure that people’s health and safety is protected in and outside of the workplace.
First Response Training (FRT) is one of the UK’s largest and leading national training providers.
They deliver a wide and diverse range of training for businesses and organisations across all industry sectors and throughout the UK. Their course range includes training in the fields of health and safety, first aid, fire safety, manual handling, mental health, food safety, health and social care and more.
Their health and safety training is mapped to UK standards and legislation and follows HSE guidelines. The portfolio includes courses such as Health and Safety, Managing Health and Safety, Risk Assessment, Accident and Incident Investigation, Working at Height, Asbestos Awareness and many more.
An accredited Mindful Employer themselves, FRT’s specialist mental health training courses include Understanding Mental Health, Mental Health Awareness in the Workplace, Managing Stress, Anxiety and Phobias Awareness, Self-Harm Awareness and Suicide Awareness.
They can also provide qualified, approved trainers to deliver accredited Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training courses, including the Adult, Youth and Lite versions.
A trainer from FRT says:
“We believe in creating safer working environments with people who care. This is our vision and central to our services. It means providing training that helps to protect people’s physical and mental health, safety and welfare.
“Any life lost at work is obviously one too many, and non-fatal injuries can also have significant, life-altering impacts on workers. Additionally, while stress is not recognised as a diagnosable mental health condition, it can lead to more serious mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, and can also have physiological effects.
“It’s important to recognise the severity of stress and to learn proactive and positive ways for managing, minimising and preventing stress, both in the workplace and in our personal lives and to ensure that we regularly undergo essential training in health, safety and welfare across all organisations and industries and that workplace health and safety programmes continue to evolve to address new and emerging safety risks.”
For more information on the training that FRT can provide, please call them today on freephone 0800 310 2300 or send an e-mail to info@firstresponsetraining.com.