The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out an inspection programme on the Isle of Wight and found that 84% of businesses inspected were in breach of health and safety regulations. The issues identified included poorly maintained electrics, poor welfare facilities and a lack of control of exposure to wood dust, welding fumes and other hazardous materials/fumes.

The large-scale inspection took place earlier this month and involved eleven HSE inspectors visiting the island over a two-day period, inspecting thirty-three different businesses in total. Following the inspections, a range of enforcement action was taken by the HSE resulting in four Prohibition Notices, thirty-seven Improvement Notices and numerous instances of written advice.

HSE principal inspector Nancy Harman said:

“As a result of our intervention, we hope to have educated and informed businesses about the measures that they need to have in place to ensure that everyone goes home from work safely and without risks to their health”.

Whilst this inspection only covered one geographical area, a variety of organisations across multiple different industries were inspected. These ranged from small businesses to large industry-leading firms with hundreds of employees. The results from the inspection programme very much show that compliance with health and safety obligations is a continual development process – and not a one-time tick-box exercise.

Health and safety laws can at times be hard to navigate and there are many pitfalls that a business may face when trying to balance its obligations against its objectives. Nonetheless, identifying risks and managing these accordingly remains crucial in protecting employees and members of the public. Failing to do so can lead to enforcement action by regulators and civil proceedings.

At Anthony Collins, we support social businesses on all aspects of health and safety advice, including in relation to fire safety, RIDDOR reporting, policy reviews and more. If you would like to discuss the support we could provide to you and your business, please contact Molly Quinney.