Introduction
Health and Safety is at the core of what we do at Amalgamate. That’s why we keep our website up to date with recent legislation updates and guidance to ensure our clients are aware of what is required of them in managing their company’s health and safety. This post will be detailing the main points from the October 2020 Health and Safety Legislation Update.
Key Health and Safety Legislation Changes 2020
- Brexit
- The Environment Bill
- The Fire Safety Bill
- The Building Safety Bill
- The Health Protection (Notification) (Amendment) Regulations 2020
- EH40/2005 (updated to 4th Edition)
- Environmental Protection England Amendment Order
- Drivers Hours Changes – August 2020
- BS ISO 45003 Occupational Health and Safety Management — Psychological Health and Safety at Work: Managing Psychosocial Risks — Guidelines
- Coronavirus
Brexit
Whatever the outcome of the latest talks between the UK and the EU to finalise ‘Brexit’, it is expected that the fundamental principles of risk management will remain. Under the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018, when the transition period ends, EU laws will initially remain in place. Secondary legislation has been put in place to come into effect at the end of the transition period to ensure that it, and any EU-derived UK legislation, will function correctly at that time. Areas of relevance include:
- Biocides – from 01/01/2021, applications to make biocidal active substances and products available on the UK market must be submitted to the HSE
- Classification, labelling and packaging of substances and chemicals (CLP)
The Environment Bill – update
The Environment Bill was introduced to Parliament on 30 January 2020 and sets out reforms aimed at protecting the environment once the UK has left the EU. These include:
- a requirement for a long-term environment plan
- the setting of various environmental targets including for air quality
- incorporation of environmental principles into UK law
- a new Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), to replace EU oversight functions
- extending producer responsibility schemes for waste beyond the current waste streams, introducing:
- a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) to encourage consumers to return drinks containers for recycling
- a new tax on plastic packaging which does not contain at least 30% recycled plastic content
- strengthening air quality legislation and increasing powers in relation to enforcement of air quality standards, with mandatory recalls for vehicles and equipment failing environmental tests.
The Fire Safety Bill
In March 2020, the Home Office introduced a new bill to improve fire safety in buildings in England and Wales. The proposed Fire Safety Bill will amend the Fire Safety Order 2005 to clarify that the responsible person or duty-holder for multi-occupied, residential buildings must manage and reduce the risk of fire for:
- the structure and external walls of the building, including cladding, balconies and windows
- entrance doors to individual flats that open into common parts
The Building Safety Bill 2019-2020
This Bill sets out to ensure that buildings are safe for their occupants and avoid a repeat of a tragedy such as Grenfell Tower. Critical to the Bill is the introduction of the new, statutory role of Building Safety Manager; dedicated to the day-to-day management of fire and structural safety in a building and to ensure residents have a clear point of contact for any issues relating to safety.
Public Health England: The Health Protection (Notification) (Amendment) Regulations 2020
These regulations amended the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/659). They apply to England only. Regulation 2(2) adds COVID-19 to the list of notifiable diseases in Schedule 1. Regulation 2(3) adds SARS-CoV 2 to the list of causative agents in Schedule 2. (March 2020)
EH40/2005 (Updated to 4th Edition)
The HSE published a revised version of EH40/2005 which detailed some new and revised Workplace Exposure Limits for 13 carcinogenic substances which came into force from 17th January 2020. These revised limits mean that you may need to review your COSHH risk assessments to ensure exposure is controlled to as low as reasonably practicable. (March 2020)
Drivers Hours Changes – August 2020
In August new EU rules came into force regarding drivers hours and tachographs, including:
- A limit of driving 9 hours per day – this can only be increased to a daily limit of 10 hours twice a week
- Requirement for drivers to ‘return home’ every 4 weeks
- New rules relating to rest and break periods
Coronavirus Act 2020
This act saw the introduction of a range of emergency provisions in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The measures included the emergency registration of health professionals, temporary modification of mental health and mental capacity legislation, the power to require information relating to food chains. (March 2020)
Covid-19 Regulations
Employers and employees have a responsibility to follow the specific Covid-19 Secure guidelines set out for their sector or industry. There are 14 guides which relate to different kinds of workplaces, it may be that you need to use more than one guide to prevent the spread of Coronavirus. As an organisation, you have a responsibility to create and produce a COVID-19 risk assessment. This should be circulated amongst all staff and you must ensure that it has been read and understood by all employees. If you employ more than 50 people, you should publish your Covid-19 risk assessment on your website.
The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Collection of Contact Details etc. and Related Requirements) Regulations 2020
If your business is open to the public it is now a legal requirement (from 18th September 2020) to display an NHS QR Code. Businesses include those in the hospitality sector, tourism and leisure, close contact services and local authority run services. You can create a QR poster for your premises by going on the Government website.
BS ISO 45003 Occupational Health and Safety Management – Psychological Health and Safety at Work: Managing Psychosocial Risks – Guideliens
This draft international standard is currently being developed by the international occupational health and safety management technical committee (ISO/TC 283). The Public Comments phase of development began on 26 June 2020; it closed on 4 October 2020. ISO 45003 aims to provide guidance on protecting psychological health by managing psychosocial risk within an occupational health and safety management system. It covers:
- How to identify the conditions, circumstances and workplace demands that can impact the psychological health and well-being of workers
- Identifying primary risk factors and assess them to determine what changes are can be made to limit those risks
- How to control work-related hazards and manage psychosocial risk within an OH&S management system.
Contact
If you would like more information on how to protect the health and safety of your workers, or are interested in any of the services we offer, please contact us on t: +44 (0)141 244 0181 or e: info@amalgamate-safety.com
Resources
- You can read our September 2020 Legal Update here
- To download the Legislation and Guidance Update for October 2020, click here