by Oscar Venus | 13 Jun, 2024 | Health and Safety
On Tuesday this week, FIS hosted its Health and Safety working group meeting. We would like to extend our thanks to all those who attended and supported discussions around Health and Safety Statistics, Pallet Movement, CPR, Defibrillator Training, Dust and Muscular Skeletal Issues, and HAVS.
Safety Alerts and Actions: BDL shared a safety alert regarding a fatality associated with Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBC). Various actions and agreed items were highlighted, such as the need for volunteers to review existing FIS guidance on manual handling and load handling, completion of the FIS H&S and Accident Survey, and the trial of Pallet Loop trucks.
Future Focus: There was a consensus on the importance of updating guidance on HAVS and manual handling. Discussions also took place regarding specific training for handling boards and the development of more H&S specific training using the FIS e-learning platform.
Feedback and Suggestions
This contributions of this group are invaluable in promoting a safe and healthy working environment.
If you are interested in attending the next H&S working group, email info@thefis.org We welcome topics for future discussions, or areas for improvement in the FIS H&S Toolkit.
by Oscar Venus | 17 May, 2024 | Employment, Fairness, Inclusivity and Respect (FIR), Health and Safety
Prioritising mental health can be hard and is often forgot about, but it not only impacts your team, your business can also suffer. Your employees deserve a safe working environment and learning how to take care of your people will make a significant difference to your business’ productivity and absenteeism.
To learn more about managing mental health in your business join our Associate Service Provider Member Citation’s upcoming webinar ‘Mental health awareness- Building a healthier happier team’ taking place on Tuesday 21 May from 11-12pm.
What’s included?
- Everything you need to know about stress risk assessments
- How to engage your employees and boost productivity
- Practical tools to support wellbeing and manage stress in your business
Register now: https://tinyurl.com/jy2jw7b4
If you’d like to chat about how Citation can help with the HR and Health & Safety side of your business, just fill in their call-back form, and they’ll get right back to you. Remember to quote ‘The Finishes and Interiors Sector’ when enquiring to access preferential rates.
by Clair Mooney | 21 Mar, 2024 | Health and Safety
FIS is working with The Diabetes Safety Organisation (DSO) to draw attention to the vital issue and risks that can be posed by diabetes in the workplace. Diabetes is often misunderstood and underestimated as a condition, and its impact on individuals and the workplace is not always visible. Around 8% of your employees have diabetes and around 33% have pre-diabetes. Many employees with diabetes ‘hide’ their condition at work and/or feel unsupported by their employer, leading to poor diabetes management for individuals and greater diabetes risks for them and the business.
In a previous issue of SpecFinish, we heard from Kate Walker, Director at Diabetes Safety Organisation, who explained that the rapid increase in the number of people with diabetes means that it is very likely that some employees on site will have the condition. Employers, therefore, must understand the risks and know how to support affected employees and their colleagues. You can read he full article here https://www.specfinish.co.uk/diabetes-the-invisible-epidemic-creating-major-health-and-safety-risks/
There are 1 million people living with undiagnosed diabetes. Undiagnosed and poorly managed diabetes can lead to significant changes in eye sight, lack of sensation in feet and lower concentration levels. Additionally it causes long term damage to key organs like the heart and kidneys, increasing the number of people who exit the workplace early. With the correct support at work, people can better manage their condition, improving their productivity, concentration and over all safety.
There is limited real world data on diabetes in the workplace and we are looking for organisations to help us and themselves understand key organisational risks such as:
- Whether work practices are compromising the ability of employees with diabetes to manage their condition according to their health providers’ recommendations
- Whether severe hypos are being hidden/not recorded in health and safety data
- Whether employees know how to recognise and assist a colleague experiencing a hypo
- Whether employees with diabetes are choosing to not disclose their condition to their line manager/HR
- Whether employees with diabetes are compliant with DVLA driving regulations
- Whether employees understand the risks from undiagnosed diabetes
- Whether line managers are confident in their knowledge of diabetes risks at work and ability to support employees with diabetes
The survey is confidential and can be completed here – https://forms.office.com/r/iZ1aX051Va
by Oscar Venus | 21 Mar, 2024 | Building Safety Act, Health and Safety
HSE Director of Building Safety, Philip White, has officially announced in a public letter to the industry an extension to the deadline for experienced Building Inspectors in England to finish their competence assessment. Qualified Building Inspectors must meet the following criteria and will now have until July 6 to complete their assessment:
- Current Building Inspectors
- Register as a Class 1 Registered Building Inspector (RBI) by April 6
- Undergoing competency assessment by an approved scheme by April 6
- Not informed by an approved scheme of failing the competency assessment twice
Building Inspectors meeting these conditions can continue their building control duties for the RBI class they are assessed for until July 6, by which they must upgrade their registration to Class 2, 3, or 4. The transitional arrangements are now part of the Code of Conduct for RBIs, and as of March 14, 3,261 Building Inspectors had applied for registration.
The Welsh Government has stated that Building Inspectors in Wales must register by April 6 and now have until September 30 to complete their registration.
by Clair Mooney | 16 Feb, 2024 | Building Safety Act, Health and Safety
Measures to permanently remove Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) from all affected schools and colleges, have been confirmed this week by the government. A final list of schools and colleges with confirmed cases of RAAC in schools and colleges in England has also been published. There are 234 education settings, out of 22,000, with confirmed RAAC in some areas of their buildings – around 1%. Click
here to read more.
by Oscar Venus | 4 Jan, 2024 | Health and Safety
On January 1, 2024, the UK government implemented amendments to the Working Time Regulations, which are outlined in this document. Please note that this guidance cannot provide definitive answers to all individual queries or be used in place of personalised legal advice. Employers must negotiate the changes in terms and conditions with their workers or representatives.
The main focus of this guidance is on the minimum entitlement of 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday. However, workers may have contractual entitlements to additional paid leave beyond this statutory minimum. Therefore, employers should first review individual contracts and consult independent legal advice if necessary.
It is important to note that all illustrative holiday pay calculations in this guidance are based on gross pay data (before any taxes or deductions).
Additionally, this guidance refers to ‘workers’ as individuals whose employment status is either as a ‘worker’ or an ’employee’, entitling them to paid leave.
See the guidance here
Join Citation on Wednesday, January 10th at 11am for an informative webinar on changes in employment law. Our discussion will focus on a range of topics including new regulations around carers’ leave, flexible working, and holiday entitlement and pay for irregular hours/part-year workers.
Be one step ahead this year by attending this webinar.
