The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has found that around 49 per cent of UK workplaces have never had a proper health and safety inspection.
The survey, which the TUC conducts every two years, found the following:
• 9 per cent of safety representatives said that the last visit from a health and safety inspector at their firm took place more than three years ago
• 15 per cent said their last inspection had been between one and three years ago
• 27 per cent said their workplace had been inspected in the last 12 months
• 49 per cent said they had never been visited by a health and safety inspector
These figures are quite surprising, especially considering it has been proven that enforcement and inspection are the most effective ways to ensure that employees live up to their health and safety responsibilities as required by law.
UK bosses are legally required to protect themselves and their employees from accident and injury in the workplace with employers’ liability insurance, which is just one of the many professional insurance solutions available to businesses.
Just having the insurance is not enough, however. Employers should be striving to prevent employee accidents before they happen by implementing proper health and safety measures, without needing a prompt from a health and safety inspector in order to adhere to the law.