Be safe

By John Crockett

With businesses across the UK now facing the threat of recession and economic uncertainty, fears are growing that some may choose to cut corners when it comes to keeping on top of their health and safety obligations.

In the past year, we have already seen a steep increase in the number of businesses being fined for not carrying out regular surveys and assessments, which is something I believe we could see continue well into 2023 and beyond.

But turning your back on health and safety is the worst thing you can do. In fact, being proactive and engaging with a health and safety expert at the very beginning of your project could be the best decision you ever make.

Take asbestos for example.

If you think it’s a problem which has been consigned to the history books, it’s important to think again.

Despite being banned from all new buildings since 1999, a report published by the Asbestos Testing and Consultancy Association (ATaC) has highlighted the enormous scale of the asbestos problem currently facing the UK.

Of more than 128,000 buildings surveyed between October 2021 and March 2022, a staggering 78 per cent were found to contain asbestos. In total more than 700,000 individual items of asbestos were found and 71 per cent of those were damaged, potentially posing a significant threat to health.

On some construction sites, building work has begun without an asbestos survey even taking place, putting everyone on site at risk of developing deadly mesothelioma.

This is just one example, but experience shows us that many businesses don’t usually contact health and safety experts until it’s too late. If an accident happens, they will often bring in an external consultant to record it and say what can be done about it after the event.