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The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) is the world’s leading professional body for people responsible for safety and health in the workplace.
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Not looking backwards
IOSH will be a key player in the workshops at the Global Initiative for Safety, Health and Wellbeing Conference in Japan this month. Their themes reflect debates that are already buzzing across the world of health and safety:
• Are qualifications preparing students for a career in safety relevant to the challenges of today?
• How important are collaborative, managerial and leadership skills to the improvement of safety performance?
• Does the OSH professional have a role in the future workplace, or will that position be replaced by technology or people in other roles?
Our recent review of IOSH’s competency framework confirmed that core and behavioural skills remain of vital importance. They enhance our ability to influence performance and enable the development of individual careers. The review raised three further considerations:
• The increasing importance of digital literacy and data analysis. When considering digital tools, the ability to master the language of modern technology and appreciate opportunities is key to the measurement, selection and monitoring of safety solutions.
• The need to enhance our critical thinking skills. We live in a world of misinformation and fake news. We should have a healthy suspicion
HOW DO WE VERIFY THE ACCURACY, VALIDITY AND TRUTH OF OUR
regarding the validity of information gathered from the internet by AI chat tools. So how do we verify the accuracy, validity and truth of our information sources?
• The necessity of showing a return on investment for safety projects. The arguments of what is morally right, what is legally required or how losses can be avoided no longer carry the same weight. OSH professionals must collaborate closely with other business disciplines to show how the OSH contribution can improve efficiencies and production performance, enhance culture and organisational reputation, and help to create fulfilling and engaging work.
If we are to thrive as a profession, looking backwards has limited value. The basics of safety might well remain relevant because humans will still be growing food, extracting raw materials, building structures and manufacturing things. However, the breadth of what we need to know continues to grow. The way we are being asked to carry out our responsibilities will continue to change. If we are to pursue the ideal of a safe and healthy world of work, now is the time to reflect on future knowledge needs.
Duncan Spencer CFIOSH IOSH HEAD OF ADVICE AND PRACTICE
THE KNOWLEDGE
6THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW Stats, facts, news and views
10INSIDE THE REPORTS
Emerging risks and the complexities of AI-based worker management
12INTERVIEW
Shaun Lundy CFIOSH discusses his journey from the army to OSH
14PROSECUTIONS
Recent court cases
18 THE WIDER VIEW
What’s new online: our latest webinars, videos and podcasts
20PODCAST INTERVIEW
IOSH president Kelly Nicoll answers your questions
25MEMBER OPINION
Nick Hancock CertIOSH explores the nature of workplace stress
26A FALL FROM HEIGHT
Gary Gallagher’s life-changing experience brings lessons for OSH practitioners
28BUSINESS LEADER FORUM
Good governance and a mature OSH culture go hand in hand
30OSH SERVICES
Preliminary findings from a research report on global OSH inequality
THE EVIDENCE
70ROUNDUP
Hot topics
The latest research and reports
72DEEP DIVE
Research: in depth
A closer look at a new study
THE LAST WORD
MILESTONES
Psychiatric injury
Duncan Spencer takes a practitioner’s view of civil law milestones
KNOWLEDGE
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS ISSUE
‘In Singapore, where many workers are foreign general labourers, language barriers might impede their ability to voice safety concerns. Management should strive to educate and empower these individuals’
WILLIAM MAIKER, IOSH SINGAPORE EXCO MEMBER
1. FATALITY RATES Singapore’s workplace deaths on the rise, says MOM
The number of workplace fatalities in Singapore is creeping up, according to the latest health and safety performance data from the island nation’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
It shows that there were 43 workplace fatalities in 2024, up from 36 in 2023. The top three causes were vehicular incidents, suffocation or drowning, and the collapse or failing of structures and equipment.
The figure, which tops the 39 fatalities recorded in 2019, was due to more deaths in the construction and marine industries. The construction sector saw workplace fatalities climb from 18 to 20, while the marine sector recorded five, having had none in 2023.
William Maiker, IOSH Singapore Exco member, said many accidents ‘remain attributable to preventable safety lapses’. He added: ‘These include inadequate control measures, poor adherence to safe work procedures and insufficient safety behaviour among employees at various levels.’
Workplace injuries, conversely, saw a slight downturn. The data showed 587 major injuries in 2024, down from 590 the previous year, with the top causes being slips, trips and falls, machinery incidents and falls from height.
Read more at: ioshmagazine. com/singapore-fatalities-rise
2. STANDARDS
UK launches consultation on landmark suicide awareness standard
The British Standards Institution (BSI) has opened the public consultation for BS 30480, the UK’s first standard focused on suicide awareness and education in the workplace.
This initiative aims to provide comprehensive guidelines to help organisations plan for, respond to and support people affected by suicide. Readers are invited to contribute their thoughts; the consultation is open until 16 July 2025.
Find
3. REGULATION
Events industry has two years to prepare for Martyn’s Law
Employers, venue owners and event organisers across the UK have around 24 months to improve their protective security and organisational preparedness before legislation comes into force.
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act, also known as Martyn’s Law, received Royal Assent in April 2025, placing a legal duty on those responsible for certain premises and events to consider how they would respond to a terrorist attack.
Employers, venue owners and organisers at larger premises and events must now consider appropriate steps to reduce the location’s vulnerability to terrorist attacks.
During the two-year period, the Security Industry Authority will advise, guide and support those responsible to meet the requirements.
The Home Office, which has produced a factsheet explaining the requirements for both standard duty premises and enhanced duty premises and qualifying events, has warned that the SIA will take enforcement action when instances of serious or persistent non-compliance occur.
Gavin Scarr-Hall, director of health and safety at Peninsula, said: ‘The new law puts more requirements onto venue management to prepare properly, not only to minimise the risk of a terror attack, but also to deal with it should the worst occur.’
Martyn’s Law commemorates Martyn Hett, one of 22 people who died in the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, and comes after campaigning by his mother, Figen Murray.
Read more at: ioshmagazine.com/martyns-law
4. INSECURE WORK
Work-related ill health rises in line with insecure work, says TUC
The rise in work days lost because of ill health has coincided with a significant rise in insecure work, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has claimed in an extensive analysis of GB Health and Safety Executive figures.
Lessons for OSH professionals emerge at Birmingham health and safety event
At April’s Health and Safety Event in Birmingham, Sarah Newton, chair of the GB Health and Safety Executive, warned in her keynote speech that an urgent culture shift was needed to tackle work-related ill health in the UK.
It estimates that the number of people in precarious employment increased by a third to more than four million between the years 2011 and 2023 – roughly the same period that work-related ill health has increased.
The number of work days lost due to poor health conditions such as stress, depression and anxiety has increased by a third since 2010, the analysis shows.
It argues that the rise in work-related ill health costs the UK economy more than £415m a week.
The TUC called for urgent action as the Employment Rights Bill returned to Parliament for its report stage in March 2025. It said the bill would help to deliver better-quality work by cracking down on insecure work and banning exploitative zero-hours contracts.
The TUC analysis coincides with a Commission for Healthier Working Lives report, which also suggests a link between poor-quality work and employee health.
The report says the UK government has acknowledged the link between health and economic success but warns against a ‘narrow focus on short-term benefit savings and reducing headline NHS waiting lists’ because this ‘risks repeating past policy failures and limiting impact’.
Read more at: ioshmagazine.com/ tuc-insecure-work
‘For too long, the health component of health and safety has remained in the shadow of the immediate safety concerns, despite alarming statistics,’ she explained.
Elsewhere at the event, writer, broadcaster and mental health campaigner Natasha Devon MBE summarised the most
predominant mental health issues affecting gen Z and gen Alpha, and what can be done to support them.
And Dr Shaun Lundy CFIOSH, vice-president of IOSH and chair of its Construction Committee, advised OSH practitioners to maintain a strong golden thread and safety case with effective risk management, so that higher-risk buildings can be safely built and occupied without creating legacy issues.
Summit explores shifting nature of work
A national strategy grounded in prevention and early intervention is needed to help people stay in work, said Dame Carol Black at an IOSH co-hosted event in May.
The chair of the Centre for Ageing Better said the UK’s welfare system is ‘broken but rescuable’ at the International Healthy Working Lives Summit, also hosted by the International Social Security Association (ISSA), which examined the shifting nature of work.
She cited the figure of 300,000 individuals who leave the workforce each year due to work-limiting health conditions.
Dr Christine Grant, associate professor at Coventry University, stressed the need for flexible working and compassionate workplaces.
And Professor Jo Yarker of the University of London said: ‘A healthy work-life balance is not a luxury, it’s foundational.’
Read more at: ioshmagazine.com/working-lives-summit
Rights of gig workers must keep pace with AI, says MP
A roundtable hosted by IOSH at the Houses of Parliament took place in May against a backdrop of growing concerns around algorithmic management and the risks that artificial intelligence (AI) poses to job security and wellbeing.
‘Protecting gig workers in the age of AI’, was chaired by Lee Barron, MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire, following the
launch of IOSH’s report, A platform for success: building a better future in the gig economy
‘Security, dignity and a route out of poverty should remain the fundamentals of work,’ said Lee. ‘We can’t allow the algorithms to trap people.’
IOSH held a follow-up event in June, attended by Justin Madders MP, Minister for Employment Rights.
Read more at: ioshmagazine.com/ AI-roundtable
Inside the reports
Bridget Leathley CFIOSH explores recent OSH developments to reveal challenges and takeaways for best practice.
WORKPLACE RISKS NOT SO NEW
This European Agency for Safety and Health at Work report summarises a survey of over 41,000 private and public organisations across 30 European countries to identify barriers to OSH management. Respondents are described as ‘the person who knows best about health and safety’ in each establishment.
The reasons for addressing OSH are familiar, with meeting legal obligations at the top of the list. Pressures on labour inspectorates seem to be Europe-wide, with Greece and Ireland seeing large drops in the proportion of organisations that have had a visit from regulators in the previous five years.
Challenges
While 80% or more of Swedish and Danish establishments use internal staff to do risk assessments, in Spain and Slovenia 8% or less do. Perhaps because it is an external function, Spanish and Slovenian establishments carry out risk assessments more regularly than those using internal staff, although unhelpfully the report does not define ‘regularly’ or ‘carry out’.
The reasons for not carrying out regular risk assessments are familiar: that people believe the hazards are already well understood, there are no
major problems, risk assessment is too hard, or they do not have the expertise.
Two-thirds of organisations include psychosocial risks in risk assessments. There are slow improvements in the number of organisations with procedures to deal with bullying and harassment and providing workplace psychologists, but a fall in the number of those with procedures to deal with violence from customers, patients or pupils.
It is no surprise that more organisations are using office-based and mobile technology, but the figure of only 7% of organisations using artificial intelligence (AI) suggests that up to 93% of the people ‘who know best about health and safety’ know least about AI use.
Lack of understanding might also be the reason that only 43% of workplaces include digital technologies in their risk assessments. The main digitisation hazards recognised are old ones, such as prolonged sitting. Increased work intensity and information overload from digitisation was mentioned by around one-third of respondents. Fewer than 10% had considered loss of worker control, and none mentioned
over-reliance on technology or damage to workplace relationships. OSH people need to improve their understanding of newer hazards linked to digitisation.
Takeaways
Although results from 2024 are compared with those in previous surveys, the same organisations are not interviewed, so trends must be treated cautiously. The results also hide sector- and country-level data.
This is not a report about ‘new and emerging’ risks, as the people being interviewed are not at the forefront of critical thinking about safety. That they are now recognising digitisation and psychosocial risk is progress, but their lack of understanding about the implications of this recognition is disappointing.
To read the full report, go to b.link/EU-OSHA-ESENER
Bridget Leathley is a freelance health and safety consultant and a health and safety trainer.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
WORKER MANAGEMENT FOR GOOD OR ILL
Since employers first put technology into lorries to track driver hours and vehicle speeds, there has been a tension between the desire to know that workers are safe and the suspicion that employers will use the technology to ‘spy’ on workers taking unscheduled breaks.
This report from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work describes how AI-based worker management systems (AIWMs) amplify this debate. AIWMs gather data, often in real time, on workers, the tasks they do and when and how they do them. Rather than reading the data directly as a fleet manager might have done with a tachograph, an AI model assesses all the data and provides decisions, recommendations or summarised information for managers to review.
As well as movement patterns, worker management systems can track phone calls, browsing history, keystrokes, tool use, proximity to equipment and other people, and health indicators such as posture, heart rate and brain activity.
At their best, AIWMs can use health data and work monitoring to support
workers’ wellbeing. Drivers can be directed to their next coffee stop, desk workers prompted with onscreen exercises to encourage movement and handlers advised to rest. Provided there is no negative response from managers for unscheduled breaks, the technology can have positive effects. In the longer term, data can help improve work scheduling.
Challenges
At their worst, AIWMs use arbitrary and inflexible key performance indicators such as time to deliver and customer rating to allocate work, leading to more intense or more unpredictable work, pressure to perform, a reduced sense of job control and increased mistrust between managers and managed.
This report provides an example of an AIWM done well following a non-fatal incident where workers were temporarily trapped in a Swedish mine. A wearable wi-fi positioning system was introduced with the negotiated agreement that worker identification
would only be used in an emergency. A second example in this report is a Danish manufacturer using smartwatches to allocate workers dynamically to tasks in the factory. The watches were initially worn by a small group of volunteer workers who provided feedback to managers and safety reps before the programme was modified and expanded. The result was a high-trust environment, despite the lack of anonymisation of the data.
Takeaways
As OSH professionals we should always be looking for better ways to protect people,
while remaining aware that any new solution can have new hazards. The case studies provide good examples of how effective worker engagement can be, and there is further advice on how to manage decision-making by AIWM. Once implemented, you should review the impact of new systems on workers’ health and safety, and be prepared to adjust as needed to address any emerging problems. Implemented with a participative approach, AIWMs have the potential to enhance workplace safety, health and wellbeing.
To read the full study, go to b.link/EU-OSHA-AI
Dust exposure was a big problem for British soldiers serving in Bosnia in the early 1990s.
Preventing its harmful effects was one of Shaun Lundy’s many responsibilities as a medic and environmental health practitioner in the Royal Army Medical Corps. ‘There were a lot of asbestos-riddled buildings totally or partially destroyed, and a lot of servicemen found themselves living in or operating out of them,’ he says.
‘Not quite as hazardous as mortars and being shot at, but certainly something we had to worry about,’ he adds. ‘We were tasked with measuring it and commenting on risk.’
Shaun spent 12 years in the British Army, working not just in occupational hygiene, but preventive medicine, public health and many other disciplines. ‘The environmental monitoring team’s work was specifically to look at exposure hazards in military environments,’ he adds.
‘There were the obvious ones we know about – nuclear, biological and chemical warfare – but there are also those that may originate from unusual circumstances, like burning oil fields in the middle of the desert, or unusual substances you find lurking in disposal tips in the middle of the Balkans.’
Multidisciplinary roles
It was this unique role in the army that led Shaun to pursue a career in health and safety, completing first his NEBOSH diploma, then an OSH master’s degree at the University of Surrey, UK while still in the forces. ‘When I left the army I focused more on general health and safety practice, but I still have a love for occupational hygiene.
‘As a profession we don’t always cover that area in enough depth. If you’re going to put a focus on the health in health and safety, you need to understand what is going on in the body, what these kinds of health stresses look like and how to capture that risk. Hygienists are particularly good at that.’
Different disciplines working together to meet health and safety challenges is
Joining forces
We speak to former serviceman Shaun Lundy CFIOSH, now IOSH vice-president and chair of its Construction Committee, about his journey from the army to OSH, and his war on health and safety myths.
WORDS ANNA SCOTT
crucial, Shaun says. Once he left the army he began a career specialising in the built environment and providing training. He was quality assurance and strategy director at property and risk safety consultancy Tetra for five years before becoming its chief strategy officer in June.
Shaun has also worked in academia in the UK, at both Middlesex University, where he completed a doctorate in risk, and the University of Greenwich, where he was health, safety and environment academic portfolio leader.
‘We also ran programmes accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Chartered Institute of Building and other bodies, and I was keen to look across the syllabus for all those programmes and think “Where’s the health and safety in that?” And we did improve it,’ he says.
Shaun says the health and safety profession should encourage other professional bodies to meaningfully include OSH in their academic programmes, ‘rather than just throwing a load of information at students’.
Flow of talent
It’s important to keep the pipeline of talented young people flowing into the profession, Shaun says, particularly given younger generations’ focus on collective responsibility and ethics. ‘They’re not generally motivated by “this is a legal requirement”, but they’re excited about doing the right thing and having a purpose.’
There is also an opportunity to broaden the appeal of OSH so that it is young people’s first option rather than something they come to later in their careers. ‘I do worry a little about degree-level qualifications fading away because it’s so expensive to go to university,’ he adds. ‘But I am excited about apprenticeship opportunities and using the levy.’
Tetra is looking at making apprenticeship and degree apprenticeship programmes available for employees across its health, safety and fire disciplines,
skills that will be crucial given the widescale changes needed for compliance with the Building Safety Act (BSA).
‘It’s a multidisciplinary challenge as well,’ Shaun adds. ‘OSH professionals need to work alongside fire engineers, building surveyors, property managers, facilities management professionals – everyone is playing a part in dealing with this new legislation.’
Professional ethics: key insights
Shaun’s doctorate in risk focused on ethics in health and safety practice. As part of this work, he led the revision of the IOSH Code of Conduct. He offers the following reflections on ethical decision-making:
• Ethics is a reflective process. Doing the right thing isn’t always instinctive in practice, especially if there’s pressure from an employer to overestimate or exaggerate a risk. Ethical judgement requires a pause and reflection.
• Reach out for support. If something feels uncomfortable, ask yourself: ‘Who do I know that could help me navigate this?’ In professions like medicine, where ethical challenges are common, seeking advice is standard practice and it should be in ours too.
• Use a STAR approach – Stop, Think, Act, Review. When something is new or being handled poorly, it’s important to slow down, stop and take time to assess before acting. Note that this is a different use of STAR from the Situation, Task, Action, Result interview technique.
Shaun believes the BSA will usher in more scrutiny on competence and evidencebased practice. ‘Again, OSH professionals have a significant role to play in helping duty holders become intelligent customers, for example. The IOSH Construction Committee is very interested in making sure competence requirements are broad so professionals in the sector can meet them.’
Keep on myth-busting
The BSA also shows that the OSH community is ‘very effective’, says Shaun. ‘We should be proud of what we do because we make a big difference. We can step into an industry in crisis and help people feel a bit more secure and safe.
‘I really want my IOSH vice-presidency to bring a sense of positivity to professional practice. This goes all the way back to my myth-buster days, where there was an attack on the profession, and myths were being used as a way of leveraging that.’
Shaun was a member of the HSE’s Myth Busters Challenge panel from its formation in 2012 under Dame Judith Hackitt, then chaired it until 2018. Set up to challenge poor advice often given in the name of ‘health and safety’, the panel responded to complaints and scrutinised advice given by non-regulators, consultants and employers.
‘There were hundreds and hundreds [of complaints] and most of them were nothing to do with our regulatory framework or how we practise health and safety,’ Shaun says. ‘It was just health and safety being used as an excuse to be lazy.’
The myths included the banning of ladders, legislation specifying frequencies for electrical testing, and the outlawing of head-banging at heavy metal concerts. ‘Another was using the hairdryer at the gym for drying your body – it’s never been banned!’ Shaun adds.
Lifelong learning is a passion of Shaun’s.
‘The most valuable lesson I’ve learned is to never think you know it all. I’ve done NEBOSH, an MSc, a doctorate, and the more I learn, the more I realise I don’t know. That’s taught me to listen and enjoy learning.’
TRANSPORT
BA lands £3m fine for handler falls
British Airways (BA) has been fined £3.2m following two ‘near-identical’ incidents involving baggage handlers who were injured while using televators.
The GB Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought the prosecution following the accidents on machines used to load luggage into planes at London’s Heathrow airport in 2022 and 2023.
Both incidents raised concerns over the airline’s long-standing failure to implement adequate safety measures for employees working at height.
THE INCIDENTS
The first accident occurred in August 2022, when a 54-year-old baggage handler slipped off a televator and fell 1.5 metres to the ground.
The second, in March 2023, saw an employee injured in a three-metre fall from a televator.
THE PROSECUTION
BA pleaded guilty to a breach of regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, which requires employers to take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent falls.
The airline was fined £1.33m in relation to the first incident and £1.875m in relation to the second.
OSH LESSONS
John Kushnick, legal operations director at National Accident Helpline, said: ‘Employers in the aviation and transport sectors have clear legal responsibilities to protect the safety of their workers. Among the most fundamental of these is the requirement to provide guard rails on any equipment used for working at height.’
Read the full story at: ioshmagazine.com/BA-televator
£2.5M PENALTY FOR ACID LEAKS FIRM CHEMICALS
Two chemical spillage incidents in Essex have led to a multi-million pound fine.
THE INCIDENTS
In January 2020, there was an uncontrolled release of 300,000 litres of hydrochloric acid from three chemical storage tanks at Industrial Chemicals Ltd’s site in West Thurrock.
The resulting toxic hydrogen chloride gas cloud forced schools in the area to close and local residents were told to shut their doors and windows.
Less than nine months later, a crack in a pipe on the same site resulted in the release of 87,000 litres of sulphuric acid into the local atmosphere.
THE PROSECUTION
Industrial Chemicals Ltd pleaded guilty to charges arising from the two incidents. The company was fined £2.4m in relation to charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act and a further £100,000 in relation to charges under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.
OSH LESSONS
Industrial Chemicals’ Thurrock plant is an upper-tier Control of Major Accident Hazards site, so the complexity and amount of tanks and associated pipework, as well as the resulting risks from failures, are high. Specific industry guidance is contained in the Engineering Equipment and Materials Users Association (EEMUA) 231 guide to periodic examination and testing.
Read more at ioshmagazine.com/ industrial-chemicals-Thurrock
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Council must pay £6m because of busway failings
An almost 10-year-long investigation into a guided busway network resulted in a £6m fine for Cambridgeshire County Council in April 2025.
In the decade following a fatality involving the busway, the HSE said the council continually ‘failed to take adequate action to protect the public’.
THE INCIDENTS
In 2015, Jennifer Taylor, 81, died at an unlit crossing. Three years later, Steve Moir, 50, was killed after his bike hit a kerb, causing him to fall into the path of an oncoming bus, and Kathleen Pitts, 52, lost her life in 2021.
LOGISTICS
Two young people also suffered serious injuries in separate incidents.
Despite Mrs Taylor’s death in 2015, Cambridgeshire council did not conduct its first risk assessment on the busway until 2016 – five years after it first opened.
THE PROSECUTION
The council was ordered to pay a £6m fine after pleading guilty to two offences under section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The offences related to charges of failing to protect the public both at crossing points and while travelling alongside the Cambridgeshire council’s guided busway.
Fine issued after loose timber kills driver
Builders’ merchant Travis Perkins has been ordered to pay £2m after a poorly secured piece of timber fell from one of its delivery lorries and killed a road user in May 2020.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Jo Dunk, Lewes District Council’s lead for regulatory
services, said: ‘A flatbed truck left Travis Perkins’s depot in Newhaven with six lengths of timber and other materials on board. […] Unfortunately, the load fell off the lorry.’
Jack Stevens, 28, was driving when a piece of timber from the lorry pierced his car’s windshield, killing him instantly.
THE INVESTIGATION
OSH LESSONS
HSE inspector Emma Page said: ‘As soon as you have a work activity, you need to carry out a risk assessment. If you don’t understand […] what the risks are relating to your business and what to do about them, then you need to find a specialist who can help you. Cambridgeshire County Council could have found a specialist […] and then the council could have put in place the control measures that the expert had identified. Sadly, it didn’t do that.’
Read the full story at: ioshmagazine. com/Cambridgeshire-council-busways
Jo said: ‘The training Travis Perkins had provided its staff following that case had been compromised in the incident we investigated because the driver was neurodiverse. He had struggled to understand the training, which had largely been online, so his mitigation in the dangerous driving investigation was that he didn’t totally understand what was being asked of him.’
In addition, a single strap was used to secure the load, Jo said. ‘Despite the strap being in an acceptable condition, that single strap was not sufficient nor the appropriate method of securing the load,’ she added.
THE PROSECUTION
Travis Perkins pleaded guilty to three offences contrary to the Health and Safety at Work Act and was fined £2m.
OSH LESSONS
The issue of neurodiversity in regard to safety training is ‘an important point’, said Jo. ‘Make sure, whenever you are giving critical health and safety training, you are inclusive and take into account any difficulties staff may have in understanding what is required of them.’
Read the full story at: ioshmagazine.com/ Travis-Perkins-Stevens
MANUFACTURING
WORKERS REPEATEDLY EXPOSED TO ARTIFICIAL STONE DUST
A kitchen worktop maker has been fined £60,000 for persistently failing to protect its workforce from hazardous stone dust exposure. Inova Stone Ltd faced legal action after repeated warnings and nine separate inspections by the HSE over a six-year period.
THE INVESTIGATION
In May 2021, HSE inspectors revisited the company after receiving reports of unsafe practices. The visit uncovered multiple serious health and safety breaches, with employees stating that ‘no one is in charge of health and safety’. Inspectors found the workshop floor thick with dust and marked with boot prints.
The production of stone kitchen worktops involves cutting and polishing engineered stone, which generates respirable crystalline silica (RCS) – a fine airborne dust that can lodge deep in the lungs. Without effective control, prolonged exposure to RCS can lead to life-altering and often fatal conditions.
stored unsafely, presenting serious risks of crush injuries or other physical harm.
THE PROSECUTION
The May 2021 inspection led to four improvement notices being served, but it was not the first time Inova Stone had faced enforcement action. A similar intervention took place in 2017, highlighting a troubling pattern. After years of advice and enforcement, the company had ample opportunity to bring its practices up to legal standards but consistently failed to act.
In May 2025, Inova Stone pleaded guilty at Staines Magistrates’ Court to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act, plus three counts of failing to comply with notices.
OSH LESSONS
‘This case sends a clear message: employers working with engineered stone must treat the risks from RCS with the utmost seriousness,’ said HSE principal inspector Karen Morris.
For more on artificial stone dust see page 44.
THE
AROUND
UNTRAINED WORKER INJURED IN ROOFTOP FALL
A Wellington, New Zealand business has been sentenced after a worker was critically injured when he fell six metres from a slippery, unsafe rooftop.
Josh Bowles, 38, had no experience or training in working at height when he fell from a commercial rooftop. He spent six months in hospital recovering from a traumatic brain injury and multiple broken bones.
It was found that the employer, Prowash, did not properly manage the risks of working in rainy conditions on a new iron roof with cleaning product on it. The business was unable to provide any evidence that it had a safe system of work in place. It was ordered to pay a fine of NZ$40,000 (£17,700) and reparations of NZ$77,456 (£34,400).
STONE PRODUCT COMPANY LEFT STAFF EXPOSED TO HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS
A stone product manufacturer in Georgia, US failed to administer hearing conservation and respiratory protection programmes identified in a 2024 health and safety inspection, a follow-up established.
Five months after the initial Department of Labor inspection, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Art Stone Granite and Marble Inc with two repeat violations and 13 serious violations for not providing workplace protections for employees exposed to hazards such as silica dust and occupational-related noise.
Inspectors also found workers using machinery without appropriate guarding. Heavy stone slabs were being
Read the full story at: ioshmagazine.com/ silica/Inova-Stone
The company will pay $120,000 (£88,000) in penalties, take action to correct the hazardous conditions and put steps in place to prevent any recurrence.
The wider view Webinars
IOSH magazine offers a variety of webinars designed to enhance your knowledge and skills in OSH. These sessions are ideal for members seeking to stay updated on industry trends, regulatory changes and best practices. It’s free to register and you can log the webinars as CPD.
Check out our upcoming webinars at ioshmagazine.com/webinars
WATCH ON DEMAND
Fall protection and rescue planning essentials
IOSH president Kelly Nicoll CFIOSH and 3M fall protection specialist Stephen Morris explore key elements of fall protection and the vital components of emergency rescue planning in the workplace.
Catch up here: ioshmagazine. com/webinar/fall-protection
The UK Employment Law Bill and its impact on OSH
IOSH’s head of policy Ruth Wilkinson CMIOSH joins
ployment pliance
VinciWorks to discuss the key implications of the Employment Rights Bill on OSH compliance and to provide practical strategies for businesses to stay ahead of regulatory requirements. Learn what is changing, how it affects your organisation and what you need to do to mitigate risks and enhance workplace safety.
Podcast
Ask Me Anything
Watch the webinar: ioshmagazine.com/webinar/ employment-law-bill
The invisible hazards of HAVs
In this webinar, GB Health and Safety Executive noise and vibration expert Andrew Hounslea and 3M application engineer Theo Simon address the complex health risks of hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) and noise, with the goal of simplifying its complexities and outlining actionable strategies to control vibration and noise exposure in metalworking processes.
Watch on demand: ioshmagazine. com/webinar/havs
Kelly Nicoll CFIOSH recently joined us in the podcast studio to answer your questions in our ‘Ask Me Anything’ series. From membership and qualifications to learning and CPD, no question was left unanswered – Kelly tackled all of them honestly, openly and in depth.
Check out the first episodes here: ioshmagazine.com/podcast-AMA
Opinion
Seafarers – turning the tide on poor working conditions
Improving the living and working conditions of seafarers is critical and long overdue, according to Richard Jones CFIOSH. In his latest opinion piece for IOSH magazine, he emphasises the essential role seafarers play in global trade and the risks they face in often extremely hazardous conditions.
‘Operating in challenging environments that can endanger lives and physical and mental health, seafarers deserve our care and attention,’ he says.
It is vital therefore that all countries approve and action the agreed amendments to the Maritime Labour Convention, and to underscore this the UK will also require action on seafarers’ working conditions via the Employment Rights Bill, which includes a Seafarers’ Charter.
Read more about Richard’s call for action at ioshmagazine.com/opinion/seafarers
The mental health effects of marginalisation
Marginalisation can have serious mental health consequences in the workplace. OSH content developer Laura Wilding explores how OSH professionals can collaborate to create inclusive environments, recognise external stressors and implement practical adjustments to support affected workers. ioshmagazine.com/opinion/marginalisation
Careers advice
IOSH initiative gives aspiring OSH professionals a chance at work
experience
Did you know that recruiters and employers can advertise work experience placements for free on IOSH’s official jobs board? Earlier this year, we launched a new work experience initiative designed to connect aspiring health and safety professionals with valuable work experience opportunities.
If you are looking for an intern, why not take advantage of our new offering? We currently have hundreds of CVs on our database, and our jobsite regularly attracts thousands of candidates looking for their next role.
Find out more: ioshjobs.com/ advertise-work-experience
MOST READ
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2. Operator sacked over crane collapse awarded nearly £30,000
3. ‘Merit based, colour blind’ – do Reform’s victories spell the end of EDI?
4. Cambridgeshire County Council’s £6m guided busways fine
5. British Airways prosecuted over repeated work at height failures at Heathrow
Stay informed by reading our latest news updates at ioshmagazine.com/news
Same great content, but visualised.
Prefer watching over listening? Our camera crew didn’t miss the chance to capture Kelly Nicoll answering questions from members – watch the video series now: ioshmagazine.com/videos
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Be the change
Take a proactive approach to membership and professional development, urges IOSH president Kelly Nicoll CFIOSH, as she answers members’ questions in the first part of our ‘Ask Me Anything’ series.
Do current membership criteria risk undervaluing diverse professional experiences and broader academic backgrounds in favour of rigid qualification lists?
That’s an interesting question. There is more balance now: you have the traditional academic route – a NEBOSH diploma, IOSH Level 6 or a degree in occupational health – and that is a very clear and direct way into certified membership. But IOSH now offers an experiential route, where you can come to us and say: ‘This is my CV, these are the qualifications I hold, this is the experience I’ve got’ – and there is a route through.
There is a recognition that not everybody gets academic qualifications – or needs them. Health and safety is incredibly diverse and a lot of people learn it on the job. It’s relatively recent [November 2023], but we are now starting to see people progress through that experiential route. It’s not easier, it’s still rigorous – as it should be – but it is a different way in.
How do we strike a balance between maintaining high standards and recognising the value of real-world experience and transferable skills?
We do that through Blueprint and our continuing professional development
(CPD). CPD is split into technical knowledge and transferable skills. There are lots of transferable skills that go into health and safety: listening, coaching, communication, delivering training, being able to assess risk. I came into health and safety from an acting background [see Lessons from Lasso (and drama school)], which gave me many transferable skills such as improvisation and being able to
assess situations dynamically. The ability to stay incredibly calm in a crisis is essential for what we do and that certainly doesn’t come from an academic qualification.
The thing that excites me about Blueprint 2.0 is that it acknowledges all of those leadership and transferable skills that aren’t the same as the technical rules and regulations.
Digital editor Kellie Williams put members’ questions to IOSH president Kelly Nicoll
Always learning
Kelly answers members’ questions on learning and CPD.
What’s your view on online versus face-to-face learning? There’s a place for both. I love delivering face-toface training, particularly at induction level, because it really sets out your stall around the health and safety culture. They recognise that you’re not this big, scary health and safety professional who is going to shout at them and wag a finger at them, and it gives health and safety a face.
Some people do learn better in a virtual environment. And of course we can share that online learning across the world, which is really exciting, and add gamification or make it bitesize.
We can also use online learning to recreate environments that we don’t want to put people in initially. People think they’re okay at height and then you put them in the virtual reality world and they suddenly realise they’re not. That’s much better to do while they’ve got both feet on the floor than halfway up the Queen Elizabeth Stadium.
My worry with online training is always that people have a tendency just to skip it and don’t actually absorb the information. But not everybody has the time and resources to dedicate to face-to-face learning.
There are benefits to both forms of learning, so I don’t think it’s a case of one over the other. I think there should absolutely be a blended version.
How do you see artificial intelligence (AI) impacting traditional health and safety teaching and learning? AI is not going away. We need to be able to use it as a tool rather than it taking control of us. It can improve processes, it can improve our knowledge, it can
boost efficiency and productivity. But it’s only as intelligent as the information it is fed.
People have always had worries – it was the same for the Industrial Revolution and the Automation Revolution – but we’ve always ended up embracing the change, because that’s what progress is.
The worry that AI is used to cheat the system is a valid concern – but as AI grows and develops, we’re also growing and developing AI detection systems.
I keep going on about the importance of CPD because as the world changes we have to stay on top of it. Reverse mentoring means that I can learn from the generation below that are really used to online and AI and are making use of it in a way that I’m probably not. That’s going to make me a better professional.
Why has the CPD system changed so much? Is IOSH fixing things that aren’t broken? As our profession has developed and shifted and changed, the scope of what we do has increased. CPD and that framework we use to say ‘these are competent health and safety professionals’ has had to change with it.
Log your CPD here
Reading IOSH magazine can contribute to your continuing professional development. Scan the QR code to access the MyIOSH CPD portal.
The profession is not the same as it was when the Health and Safety at Work Act came in 50 years ago – the world has changed. We’re talking about excessive heat from climate change, the introduction of AI and robotics and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It’s really important for us to continue to be able to proactively manage risk and not end up in a place where we are reactive.
It doesn’t take a huge amount of time or eff ort to keep your CPD up to date – reading this article might be part of your CPD. We are a learning profession, with no day ever the same – and that’s the joy of health and safety.
Why is membership dropping and what is IOSH doing to control this?
I don’t think membership is dropping! When I joined, we were around 47,000 and now we have around 50,000 members worldwide.
I think all membership and professional bodies are facing a similar issue: part of the reason why it might feel like we’re losing members is that over 50% of IOSH’s membership is over 50. So in the next 10 to 15 years, half of our membership is going to have retired. That means we need to continue to engage with members in order for new professionals to come in and to learn from us more experienced members, and continue to make the world a safer and better place for everybody.
The word ‘control’ makes IOSH sound Machiavellian! And it’s not –it’s a community of health and safety professionals who have come together to say: ‘One voice is great, 50,000 is even better.’ As IOSH expands and creates online communities, I think we will see that membership grow.
Why did IOSH feel the need to let anyone be a mentor?
Because anybody can be a mentor. I don’t think you need to be older or more experienced in order to be a mentor. For me, mentoring is around enthusiasm, being able to hold space for somebody else, and having the ability to inspire. So we have a mentoring programme and also a reverse mentoring programme. New technology is coming in all the time – AI and digitisation – and it’s moving so quickly that, actually, we can absolutely learn from people who are younger than us. Mentoring is also about holding somebody else to account – so
ANYBODY CAN BE A MENTOR – I DON’T THINK YOU NEED TO BE OLDER OR MORE EXPERIENCED
a mentor can be anybody. Mentoring is around sharing information, and that’s what we do as safety professionals. Opening it up allows us to recognise that just because somebody has been in this profession for 25, 30 or 40 years, it doesn’t mean they know everything.
As a retired health and safety adviser, I lost my TechIOSH status due to non-fulfilment of CPD. Do you think it was fair for that accreditation to be withdrawn? So ‘accreditation’ is the wrong word. An accreditation is a NEBOSH diploma or even a GCSE. I did my GCSEs and A-levels a very long time ago but I still hold those qualifications – they cannot be taken away because they are a level of achievement.
Membership levels are predicated on completing CPD, and it’s not hard to do – 30 hours a year equates to two-and-ahalf hours per month. And that could be listening to a podcast, reading a couple of articles, watching a few episodes of a television show – something that triggers a thought or makes a connection between what you do and how you do it, and how that then applies to your role. Our profession is constantly changing. The core of what we do is managing risk and preventing significant injuries and fatalities, but we’ve also moved into the wellbeing space, mental health and occupational health, and we are having conversations around climate change and psychosocial risks. Some of us have had environment, sustainability, security and quality added to our job descriptions. We are evolving, so we have to stay on top of the right legislation and guidance. In order to prove that we are staying on top of the changes, we have to do CPD. CPD is about reflecting. If you are not reflecting as a health and safety professional, you’re not going to get
any better – and, actually, we need to get better. Just look at the numbers – 50 people fell to their deaths from height last year. There’s still so much more to do.
So none of us should be expecting to sit on our laurels; getting a qualification is when the learning starts
If you are struggling – because of going on parental leave, switching to part time or other life changes – reach out to IOSH’s CPD team. They are there to help and may be able to make accommodations.
For retired members who wish to continue to use their postnominals, there is an expectation for you to continue with CPD, and that’s a choice you make.
Why is so little attention given by IOSH to the selfemployed, agricultural, fishing and forestry when they are the sectors year on year that have about the same number of fatalities?
Reaching out to self-employed people can be really difficult and is something we continue to work on and want to improve.
We do have a really great rural industries community, which had a phenomenal face-to-face event in north Wales a little while ago focused on agricultural safety. Rumour has it, it’s going to become an annual event.
One of the benefits of us moving from our traditional branches and groups to online communities is we have the ability to create communities that are very specific. As it is online and not regional, it can grow.
We could have lots of different online communities – female fellows, parents, carers, LGBTQ+, neurodivergent members... the possibilities are endless and it gives us so much more flexibility.
So, roll your sleeves up and get involved –go to the IOSH website, or go and find the communities on LinkedIn.
Is there any plan to expand the IOSH technical support and legal advice line to members or non-members in situations such as unfair dismissal for whistleblowing?
For non-members, possibly not, because part of the benefit of being a member of IOSH is that you do get that technical and legal support.
We are in the process of reviewing member benefits at the moment – which we do almost every year – to look at what the membership needs from us. Any additional support that we can give our membership as a collective is vitally important.
LESSONS FROM LASSO (AND DRAMA SCHOOL)
Kelly explains the unlikely inspiration behind some of her transferable skills and the ways she fulfils her CPD.
• It’s one of the more unusual CPD activities, but I do think Ted Lasso should be mandatory viewing if you want to learn about coaching, how you lead and how you bring people with you! It’s beautiful and heartwarming. My CPD last year was filled with Ted Lasso episodes, because it’s all about coaching and leadership, and those softer skills.
• I went to drama school, and when something goes wrong on stage, you’ve got to do an assessment very quickly in your head and adapt by either changing the dialogue or
In cases of whistleblowing, particularly reporting your own employer for breaches of health and safety law, getting that support and advice is important, whether it’s from IOSH’s technical line or a lawyer – and there are several options available.
We have membership surveys that come out every few years. You can also raise any issues with our Council members or the presidential team. So get involved; raise the issue with us.
Kelly has responded to all submitted questions; more of Ask Me Anything will appear in our next issue.
Questions and answers have been edited for space. To hear the first conversation in full, visit ioshmagazine. com/podcast/AMA/membership-CPD
changing what you’re doing to cover it up. Or it’s the squeaky door thing – where you acknowledge it, make a joke and move on. But thinking on your feet is absolutely important within health and safety – being able to pivot and make changes while things are already going on.
Leaders in businesses may not fully understand the importance of addressing physiological harm related to psychosocial safety alongside physical or processbased risks.
Various definitions of the term ‘hazard’ lean towards the identification of something with the potential to cause harm. The GB Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines stress as an ‘adverse reaction’ (HSE, 2024). So why is stress considered as the thing that can cause harm, namely a hazard, when in fact the suggestion is that stress is the result of something leading to a negative effect on mental health, namely a risk?
Six Management Standards (HSE, 2025) have been identified as being a direct cause of stress if not managed correctly:
• Demands
• Control
• Support
• Relationships
• Role
• Change.
By definition, these standards must themselves be the hazards, or stressors, with stress as the risk of harm occurring.
Risk in health and safety is generally defined as a combination of likelihood and severity of harm occurring. The experience we call ‘stress’ is the result of workplace factors –hazards – causing harm, the level of which varies according to the individual. The hazards combine with the levels of harm caused to create the stress risk level, just as with physical risks.
However, when considering the effects of stress, there are identifiable negative physiological symptoms with associated consequences, which affect both the person and their ability to carry out their
WORKPLACE STRESS: HAZARD, RISK OR BOTH?
regular work activities. This consideration lends itself to redefining stress as the thing that can cause harm: a hazard.
The stress risk cycle
Figure 1 articulates the relationship between stress as a hazard and stress as a risk. They are interchangeable in terms of an increase to physiological harm derived from poor psychosocial safety.
Where stressors have a negative effect on mental health, this leads to a greater level of stress, manifesting as physical symptoms including insomnia, weight loss and so on (stress as a risk). This actualised risk can result in poor performance, sickness absence and presenteeism (stress as a hazard), which increases the risk of symptoms of stress.
Conclusion
There is a clear need for leaders to promote the reduction of stress and its effects in the
Employee stress has a real impact on workplaces and productivity – but how should it be regarded by OSH professionals? Nick Hancock MSc CertIOSH, a health, safety and wellbeing business partner in local government, puts forward his view.
Increasing stressors (hazard)
Increasing stress (risk)
workplace. Although there is no definitive requirement to conduct stress risk assessments, not having them would be akin to not evaluating the risks from noise, slips and trips, manual handling and so on. Research into the perception of stress as a hazard or risk suggests they are seen as interchangeable in terms of cause and effect, and that organisational priority should be on reduction as far as reasonably practicable (Kortum, 2011). Therefore, there is a clear need within organisations to ensure psychosocial hazards
are included within risk assessments so that what may be deemed business as usual does not give rise to undue stress. Employers must ensure that stress risk assessments are implemented to reduce the risk of physiological harm, and must also be aware that stress itself can be both a hazard and a risk of psychosocial impacts if suitable and sufficient controls are not implemented.
For references, see ioshmagazine.com/ Nick-Hancock
Anatomy of a fall
Motivational speaker Gary Gallagher shares his near-death experience and highlights the importance of vigilance while working at height.
WORDS EMMA BENNETT
When 20-year-old Gary Gallagher went to measure up a building for scaffolding he had no idea his life was about to change. On 10 July 1996, he fell 34ft (10 metres) from a roof, suffering life-threatening injuries and initiating a decade-long legal battle.
Now a speaker on health and safety, Gary aims to raise awareness of the risks of working at height by talking about his long road to recovery – and what he’s learned along the way.
The accident
On the day it happened, Gary was working as a surveyor for Glasgow-based scaffolding company Turner Access. He was quoting for a new project and was taken up to the roof to have a closer look.
sturdy,’ said Gary. ‘The HSE [GB Health and Safety Executive] later found that the metal plates welded onto the balustrade had eroded over time and that’s what gave way.’ Gary suffered multiple serious injuries, including facial damage, internal bleeding, a head injury, several broken bones and the loss of sight in one eye.
‘I think the only reason I survived was because I got treatment within eight minutes,’ says Gary. ‘The contractor I was with put me in the recovery position and kept my airways clear – he kept me alive. And, luckily, an ambulance was driving by with another patient on board. The paramedic said if they don’t stop, I won’t make it. ‘I woke up in the ambulance shouting and choking
Unknown to him and the building contractor accompanying him, the Victorianera metal balustrade at the edge of the roof was damaged. When he leaned against it to take a measurement, it gave way, sending him falling head-first to the ground.
‘I didn’t realise at the time just how old the iron railing was – I thought it was edge protection – it was at waist-height and looked
for air. The pain was incredible; it was the most terrifying experience you can imagine.’
Lasting impact
Gary was put into an induced coma and woke up in hospital two weeks later. Three months on, following nine operations – including one nine-hour surgery to rebuild his face and three other abdominal procedures – he was discharged on his 21st birthday. His mother, a former nurse, gave up work to look after him – and then began the real journey of recovery.
‘My right wrist was badly crushed, and I broke my pelvis, which caused me a few mobility issues. Stomach problems and my jaws being wired meant I struggled to eat and dropped almost half my weight, so I was about seven stone. And of course, I’d lost the sight in my left eye.’ A 10th operation took place nine years after the accident to repair a squint in his blind eye.
‘It probably took about two years to get over my physical injuries. By then, I started to look quite healthy, which was in stark contrast to how close I came to death.’
But appearances can be deceptive, and Gary took far longer to come to terms with the psychological impact of the accident. By 25, he was suffering with depression and anxiety – something he says he was only able to overcome after meeting the woman who would become his wife.
‘I’d have nightmares about falling and I had a fear of going out in public. I still don’t like crowds because it’s not obvious from looking at me that I have a disability.’
Gary and his family endured a decadelong civil action involving nine different organisations, including the main contractor and building owner. After losing his original court case, Gary eventually settled on the steps of the Court of Appeal – but no one was prosecuted for the incident.
Although the architect had noted in his drawings that the defective balustrade needed securing – and the issue was discussed at several pre-start meetings –this information was not passed to Gary’s employer. The roof area was used regularly by smokers occupying the building.
As construction work hadn’t started yet, Gary was not covered by the Construction (Design and Management) (CDM) Regulations 1994 for managing health and safety, as written at the time – their applicability in law for duty holders didn’t begin until the construction phase.
As Gary points out: ‘It would be a lot easier to prosecute nowadays following the changes to the CDM Regulations and other legislation such as the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.’
Support at work
Gary returned to work six months after the incident, in a much more limited capacity –first answering phones and then working as a sales rep. Eventually, he went into health and safety (having achieved his first safety qualification before the accident).
‘I had the best possible support I could have had from Turner Access. They gave
me the freedom to attend the hundreds of appointments I had with neurologists, orthopaedics, nutritionists, physiotherapists, dentists and so on. And if I felt unwell or unable to work I was allowed home to rest.
‘They also did a lot to find me a new role following the accident. I didn’t want to return to surveying because I didn’t want to be exposed to height, so they lost out on the thousands they had paid to train me for those services.’
Gary stayed with the company for another 14 years, and eventually began sharing his story to prevent others from having to experience what he himself went through.
The three Cs
Gary talks about the importance of the three Cs: control, communication, complacency.
‘Control: there was no induction and no sign-in or sign-out process, and no lock on the door. Communication: the knowledge the duty holders had was not shared effectively. Complacency: there were multiple people who had the opportunity to highlight the danger of the barrier. I was also young and inexperienced and could have taken more care.
‘It’s also vital to take immediate corrective action to prevent the hazard causing harm. Even a simple warning notice on the roof could have prevented what happened that day.
‘Anyone working at height needs to realise that it’s a high-risk activity and if something goes wrong it could go tragically wrong. You need to take responsibility and avoid taking unnecessary risks.’
To find out more about Gary’s workplace safety training, go to fallfromheight.com
IOSH is raising awareness of the dangers of working at height. For more information visit iosh.com/heights
To read insights from IOSH’s thought leadership panel on working at height, go to iosh.com/news-and-opinion/a-tall-order
Enabling good
GOVERNANCE
Systems and processes ensure accountability and strategic alignment, but need to sit within a mature OSH culture to support good governance and leadership.
WORDS ANGELA GRAY CMIOSH
In the March/April issue of IOSH magazine, we described the first module of the IOSH Business Assurance Certification model: governance and leadership. In this issue, we are going to take a closer look at the second module: systems and processes.
To underpin good governance and leadership, organisations – whether public, private or non-profit – need a solid framework of processes, policies and cultural values. These structures ensure accountability, transparency, strategic alignment and ethical behaviour.
For health and safety governance specifically, detailed processes and policies are required to protect employees, visitors and the public. These measures not only reduce risk but are legally required in most jurisdictions.
This IOSH model is an OSH cultural assessment, and not an OSH management systems audit. It does not seek to replicate or replace the operational level of detail of ISO 45001 or other management system standards, but instead focuses on the accountability for strategic direction and ethical tone set at board level and by leadership teams.
The five elements contained within this module are considered the enablers of good governance and leadership.
Defining intent and scope
This element explores how the organisation defines and describes its aspirations towards OSH performance and culture. The format and language used will often reflect the level of OSH cultural maturity within the organisation.
• An OSH policy sets the tone and describes the organisational direction, intent and aspirations for OSH culture. It provides signposts for standards of behaviour, performance and accountability. It promotes engagement, positive attitudes and the organisational value of OSH.
• An OSH policy is more than a compliance document; it is a window into the safety culture and maturity of the organisation. The content, tone, implementation and leadership commitment embedded in
Defining intent and scope
Safe by design
that policy all reflect how seriously safety is taken at every level.
Safe by design
This element looks at two points: the prevalence of a ‘right first time’ mindset and how well balanced the occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) really is.
• Whatever changes or new introductions occur, OSH considerations should be key factors in the decision-making and planning processes. Business decisions consider the OSH perspective in advance and the impact of the changes are anticipated. Business operations rarely stand still, so there is always the potential for changes being made that could inadvertently impact the OSH performance and the cultural climate.
Module 2: systems and processes
Performance evaluation
Balancing risk and return
Value chain promotion Systems and processes (Enabling good governance)
• An effective OHSMS adopts a sensible approach that promotes risk awareness rather than risk avoidance. It is carefully managed to ensure potential bureaucracy is proportionately balanced to the degree of risk (risk rating) identified – the control strategies distinguish between significant risk and trivial risk and, in turn, inform the structure and content of the OHSMS.
The OHSMS is fully aligned to the risk profile and risk appetite of the organisation and provides supporting processes to the strategic direction for OSH cultural maturity.
Balancing risk and return
This element looks at three points: operational consistency, risk appetite, and frameworks for control and assurance provision.
• There should be a broad understanding of the importance of board members receiving concise, practical, high-quality information and its relevance to strategic, longer-term OSH decision-making. It is critical that the board/executive are confident that they have valid information that would withstand scrutiny.
• The organisation views the process and output of risk and opportunity management as a source of competitive advantage and a way to successfully navigate
charted and uncharted waters to drive new organisational innovation. Its scope is regularly reassessed and adjusted as appropriate to ensure that coverage of the organisation’s evolving risk profile remains complete.
• Demonstration of core governance controls is essential for the support of compliance activities. From a strong assurance framework, the board/executive and key decisionmakers will be able to answer the questions ‘Why did you make that decision?’, ‘What are the risks to its success?’ and ‘How are you managing that risk?’
Value chain promotion
BOARD MEMBERS SHOULD RECEIVE CONCISE, PRACTICAL AND HIGH-QUALITY INFORMATION
• Supply chain transparency requires companies to know what is happening upstream in the supply chain and to communicate this knowledge both internally and externally. Benefits can manifest in improved perception of the company both internally and externally, leading to other benefits such as improved analyst recommendations or decreased cost of capital (mainly due to reduced risk and increased transparency). The internal benefits, such as increased ability to retain and attract talent, increased productivity, better management of the company’s reputation and value creation should not be overlooked.
This element examines transparency of the supply chain and the degree to which OSH values are shared and promoted. We ask how supplier risk is identified and managed through due diligence processes, chain of custody and provenance knowledge.
Performance evaluation
Corporate strategy disclosures should clearly explain a company’s purpose – that is, what it does every day to create value for its stakeholders. Organisations with a clearly articulated purpose are more likely to have engaged employees, loyal customers and support from other key stakeholders.
• We question the public/stakeholder non-financial reports published (usually) on an annual basis. These can be referred to as CSR (corporate social responsibility), sustainability or ESG (environmental, social and governance) reports. In explaining their long-term strategy and financial resilience, companies should set out how they have integrated business-relevant sustainability risks and opportunities. Companies should demonstrate long-term value creation, evidenced by metrics relevant to their business model.
For further information regarding the IOSH Business Assurance Certification process, visit: iosh.com/ business. Or for a free trial of the software (available until 29 August), scan the QR code
Assessing OSH inequality
OSH provision varies widely around the world, with significant consequences for worker health, safety and wellbeing. Here we present the preliminary findings from a research project exploring the main influences on OSH programmes and service delivery.
WORDS STAVROULA LEKA, MIGUEL MUNOZ, MAHA SIDDIQUI, CLAIRE HARDY AND KAY GREASLEY, CENTRE
FOR ORGANISATIONAL HEALTH & WELL-BEING,
LANCASTER UNIVERSITY
In March last year we launched a research project to investigate OSH inequality around the world, looking at the scope, reach and effectiveness of OSH services in different countries (see b.link/IOSH-OSHinequality). It is part-funded by IOSH, the first research project the Institution has supported since it reopened its research for public benefit fund in 2022 as part of its charitable objectives. Given that a safe and healthy working environment is now recognised as a fundamental principle and right at work (International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025), it’s vital to look into the current state of OSH services in different countries to understand how worker protection might be improved at a global level.
Our partners in this project are teams at the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) secretariat, the Effectiveness in Occupational Health Services and Occupational Health and Development scientific committees, and the ICOH working group on inequalities
in OSH. After more than a year of collaboration, we are now pleased to report on our progress.
Preliminary findings indicate that the structure of OSH services varies significantly across countries, driven by factors such as economic status, legal frameworks and social security systems. These services may be organised by individual enterprises, public authorities, social security institutions or a combination of models, allowing for flexibility to address local conditions.
The project was planned to have six stages: a literature and policy review, case studies, a global survey, stakeholder interviews and a global roundtable. Milestones to date include
the completion of the literature review, exploring global access to and structure of OSH services, and the development of 30 national case studies examining countryspecific approaches to OSH. For the case studies, the following countries were purposively selected: Australia, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Poland, the Republic of Ireland, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, UAE, Uganda, the UK, the US, Vietnam and Zambia. In addition, data collection is now complete for the ICOH/IOSH OSH services survey, with responses received from 40 countries.
Four stages of development
OSH services generally fall under four stages of development. The starting-level stage in the development of OSH services refers to organisations receiving limited and basic support from OSH professionals who work in a primary healthcare unit or similar grassroots facility, where services focus on addressing the severest hazards. In the second stage of development, basic occupational health services are integrated into primary healthcare, and are designed
to be practical, low-cost and accessible – particularly for small enterprises and informal sector workers, notably in contexts with limited resources.
The international standard services stage is achieved when OSH services are aligned with the standards depicted in ILO Convention C161.
The comprehensive occupational health services stage is reached by establishing dedicated OSH centres which cover a wide range of aspects that affect employees’ health, delivered by a multidisciplinary team. Currently, only 36 countries worldwide have formally ratified ILO Convention C161 on occupational health services. However, many nations have initiatives related to OSH services despite not having ratified this convention. In developed nations, several organisations are involved in the delivery of OSH services. For example, in Finland, primary healthcare institutions, public and private OSH services and private insurance cover different layers of specialisation.
On the contrary, OSH services in developing countries tend to be centralised in public institutions, lack comprehensive national legislation that standardises their policies, procedures and practices, and still often revolve around employment injury benefits/compensation instead of prevention.
Usually, provisions for OSH services are present in national OSH legislation.
Nonetheless, they can be complemented through broader policy instruments, including labour laws, social security regulations, human rights laws, antidiscrimination laws, and disability and rehabilitation laws.
Our literature review also evidenced gaps regarding access to OSH services, independently of the degree of development of a country or the rate of the workforce covered. Individuals who are more often not protected by OSH services are self-employed and those who work in SMEs, informal workers, migrants and employees located in rural areas.
services, there are persistent gaps in implementation, capacity and coverage. These gaps are influenced by factors such as economic disparities, national policies and the structure of the workforce.
OSH SERVICES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES TEND TO BE CENTRALISED
During our review, the facilitators and barriers affecting OSH service delivery were examined at societal, sectoral and organisational levels. Welfare systems, regulatory frameworks, economic conditions and organisational size were identified as key factors that either enable or hinder the effective integration of OSH services. We are currently confirming these issues through the case studies.
Persistent and widespread gaps
To address these gaps, OSH services have been introduced since the 2000s in community-based health models in countries such as Brazil, China, Finland, Italy, Sri Lanka, the US and Vietnam. This aims to overcome the financial barriers that traditional OSH services have, as well as eliminate logistical issues, cultural differences and language barriers.
However, despite the existence of varied models and initiatives to support OSH
The four stages of OSH development
Starting-level Organisations have access to limited and basic support from OSH professionals in primary healthcare or similar facilities. The focus is on addressing the severest hazards.
Second stage Basic occupational health services are integrated into primary healthcare. Services are practical, low-cost and accessible to small enterprises and informal sector workers with limited resources.
The implications of these findings are critical for the next phases of this project. The varied structures and effectiveness of OSH services globally emphasise the need for a nuanced understanding of different realities to address the gaps in service provision. We will next conduct stakeholder interviews to validate the research findings.
Finally, a global roundtable will take place in Italy in October 2025 with the aim of disseminating the research findings and providing recommendations for the future of OSH services provision.
International standard OSH services are aligned with the standards depicted in ILO Convention C161.
Comprehensive stage Dedicated OSH centres cover a wide range of aspects that affect employees’ health, delivered by multidisciplinary teams.
From fast fashion and obsolete ships to AI and content moderation, the risks associated with many different types of work are being exported to world regions that have less OSH protection. How can we actually reduce risk instead of simply shifting it around?
WORDS KATIE SMITH
It’s a challenge to establish decent work for all within the borders of a single country – even one with a strong history of workers’ rights and protections, trade unions and a free press. It’s still harder when supply chains trail across the world, workforces far from home equal cheap labour, and there are opportunities to outsource risk to regions with weaker OSH protection.
In a globalised world, then, how can we ensure a fair income and safe working conditions, including protection from exploitation, for every worker? Decent work is important not only for individual workers but for sustainable development too.
But first, what sort of risks are being exported and where are they ending up?
Many are connected to end-of-life processes. In the same way that products that are thrown ‘away’ still end up somewhere, risks can also be displaced rather than eliminated.
The shipping industry, for one, has a long history of outsourcing some of its most arduous tasks, including the end-of-life stage. More than 80% of the world’s gross tonnage is dismantled in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan (NGO Shipbreaking Platform, 2024). Sara Rita da Costa, south Asia policy officer at NGO Shipbreaking Platform, says this is largely due to shipping companies taking advantage of weak enforcement of environmental and safety regulations there.
Since IOSH magazine last shone a spotlight on the shipbreaking industry (Smethurst, 2021), little progress has been made. Sara says: ‘Harmful practices continue largely unchecked, and greenwashing efforts have only intensified.’
This, she explains, was highlighted by an explosion at the SN Corporation
Unit-2 yard in Bangladesh last September. Six workers were killed and four others seriously injured despite the yard holding a statement of compliance with the Hong Kong Convention (HKC).
‘This tragic incident underscores the persistent failures of both international and national regulatory frameworks, the lack of effective oversight and the ongoing neglect of labour rights in the shipbreaking sector,’ Sara says.
‘It also exposes the fundamental flaws of a global regulatory system seemingly designed to protect the interests of the shipping industry rather than the safety and rights of workers. The HKC fosters a false sense of security, dangerously promoting the illusion that these yards are becoming safe and environmentally sound’ (see panel, right).
Toxic clothing and electronics
Other examples of industries exporting their waste include clothing and electronics. Fast fashion brands dump tonnes of dead stock disguised as affordable wear in African countries, which often lack the proper infrastructure to dispose of clothes that actually end up as waste (Greenpeace, 2023).
This endangers both the environment and the local people through hazardous illegal dump sites and the contamination of rivers and lakes which are a source of water, food and work. Air pollution is also a problem, with old clothes being burned as waste at landfills or used as fuel to cook food, releasing toxic fumes. The result is often respiratory illnesses like asthma and lung inflammation (Greenpeace, 2023).
It’s a similar story for electronic waste, with developed countries sending around 23% of theirs to developing countries including China, Ghana, Nigeria, Pakistan
The view from NGO Shipbreaking Platform
Sara Rita da Costa, south Asia policy officer at NGO Shipbreaking Platform, says: ‘By selling end-of-life vessels to beaching yards instead of environmentally sound recycling facilities, shipowners earn millions in additional revenue – at great human and ecological cost. To sidestep international regulations, they often rely on intermediaries known as cash buyers and exploit legal loopholes.’
However, the consequences are borne by vulnerable workers exposed to toxic substances when dismantling large vessels on intertidal mudflats, she says, with respiratory illnesses, asbestosis and cancer going largely undiagnosed because of the absence of monitoring systems. In addition, access to healthcare is limited and compensation for work-related injuries – from falls and fires, for example – remains difficult to obtain.
‘Shipbreaking yards in the region consistently fall short of meeting international standards for worker protection, pollution control and hazardous waste management,’ Sara says. The reality is that OSH risks are being shifted onto vulnerable workers and fragile ecosystems in the global south – an unacceptable trade-off for profit.
‘While national regulations exist, their enforcement is weak and inconsistent. Most workers are employed under precarious conditions, lacking formal contracts, job security and access to fundamental labour rights and social protections.’
and India. In Africa, Ghana and Nigeria are the main receivers of e-waste from Europe; Nigeria is the world’s second-largest receiver of e-waste, with up to 100,000 informal workers in the sector. E-waste is disposed of through burning, which can cause serious health issues in the absence of personal protective equipment (Traverso et al, 2024).
A study at Agbogbloshie, Ghana, last year found that subjects present at dumpsites had pathological blood lead levels and creatinine levels, a key indicator of kidney function (Püschel et al, 2024). Lead is a hazardous element with cumulative toxicity and there is no safe exposure level. Besides the kidneys, it can adversely affect the heart and lungs, the brain, immune systems and even DNA. Both the workers and the surrounding population were ‘exposed to lead to an extent that a health risk was evident’ (Püschel et al, 2024).
Natalie Swan is co-head of labour rights at the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. She says: ‘We see a geographical displacement of risk, but we also see one in terms of business structures that companies are using.
‘That’s not just offshoring, but outsourcing. The second a business makes a decision to outsource a certain type of work, function, service or product within their supply chain, they lose oversight, and that is an active decision.’
Risk in the digital era
Significantly, the exportation of OSH risks isn’t confined to established industries –it continues with the very latest types of work, including digital technologies and the artificial intelligence (AI) driving many of them.
‘The playbook that has been used to outsource health and safety risks for the last 30 years by businesses is being used within new industries,’ Natalie warns.
‘We don’t have a governance structure at international or country level that is ready for these new types of industries,’ says Natalie. ‘That means the appropriate safeguards are not being put in place. They’re being thought about after, not before.’
Digital innovation in West Africa
Although many developing countries are wrestling with risks outsourced from the developed world, there are also excellent examples of local OSH improvements and innovation.
Oluwakemi Arumosoye
CMIOSH is vice-chair of the IOSH West Africa Community and HSE and sustainability manager at Balfour Integrated Services Ltd in Nigeria. ‘In terms of some of the OSH innovations in our region, the construction industry recently digitalised their incident reporting,’ she says.
‘There are now mobile safety training and digital tools such as real-time tracking apps to report hazards, with increased access in rural and informal settings.
‘This has improved safety reporting culture and accountability. Data is now being used for active risk management. The process is ongoing and they’re going to monitor that process over time.
‘Decent work for all cannot be met unless we confront how risk is distributed. We must move from displacement to real reduction through innovation, and inclusion and accountability.
‘Developing nations are not passive recipients. They are active contributors with inspiring solutions, and OSH professionals should be central to making the transformation happen. West Africa is making real progress. There are a lot of challenges, but with time as we continue to evolve with this change, we will definitely get there.’
When it comes to AI, it’s all too easy to overlook the fact that there are humans involved in its development, but indeed there are workers engaged in gruelling tasks such as data collection and labelling.
Increasingly, these types of work are being done in Africa, especially Kenya’s ‘Silicon Savannah’, says Natalie. ‘In countries such as Kenya, there’s a high-skilled, multilingual, young, hungry workforce and high unemployment rates, so you’ve got perfect candidates for this type of role, but they don’t have the protections to ensure the work is safe and they are paid decent wages.’
Natalie argues that these sorts of tasks don’t have to be outsourced as gig work, with all the insecurity that brings. ‘However, from the onset that is the business model technology companies have chosen for this highly risky work, and that means they don’t have health and safety oversight,’ she adds.
The International Labour Organization’s (ILO’s) latest report, Revolutionising health and safety: the role of AI and digitalisation at work, explores this and the workers powering such digital technologies.
Manal Azzi, team lead on OSH policy and systems at the ILO and coordinator
of the report, says: ‘These workers, many of whom are paid low wages, commonly operate in the informal economy and lack OSH protections.
‘Data annotators, for example, are workers who prepare data for AI models through labelling, tagging, transcribing and processing content. They undertake repetitive tasks under strict surveillance, with the added psychological toll of being exposed to toxic or disturbing material, without adequate support or compensation.
Content moderators face similar risks.
‘Their job is to analyse and remove offensive or harmful content in online spaces, meaning they are constantly exposed to violent, distressing material,’ Manal says.
‘This can lead to serious mental health impacts, especially when there’s little recovery time or support mechanisms in place.’
Making decent work a reality
As part of its drive to deliver change on the ground, IOSH is committed to arguing for safety-in-design, health-indesign and human-centric approaches within new and emerging technology advancements (IOSH, 2024). It’s clear that this is very much needed – now –to protect workers from different types of risk in the digital era.
So, what steps can be taken to tackle this outsourcing of OSH risks, whether in old or new industries, so that all workers everywhere can benefit from decent work?
With regard to shipbreaking, Sara says: ‘A radical transformation of the industry is urgently needed –one that abandons
OSH takeaways
Practitioners can – and should – play an important role in achieving decent work for all.
Oluwakemi Arumosoye CMIOSH suggests the following:
Advocate transparency and equity in the global supply chain
Think about how you apply digital tools to local needs
Educate managers and workers on a positive safety culture where everyone feels they can report incidents without being penalised, including financially
Explore how global standards can be implemented in the region you’re working in
Build a culture of prevention with compliance to commitment and shared responsibility when it comes to OSH
Empower workers with the knowledge and tools needed to do this
beaching methods in favour of fully contained, industrial facilities capable of safely managing toxic substances, protecting workers’ health and preventing environmental degradation.’
‘To move forward, the industry must adopt closed-loop systems and enforce transparent, traceable waste management processes. Hazardous substances must be fully controlled – not released into the environment or mishandled,’ she urges.
‘Without these structural changes, the vision of safe and decent work in shipbreaking will remain an empty, greenwashed promise.’
For newer industries, Manal points out that the rapid evolution of technology ‘often outpaces the ability of governments and other stakeholders to respond with updated OSH policies, frameworks and legislation’.
‘Addressing OSH challenges in both traditional and new industries requires the development of resilient OSH systems, strengthened regulatory frameworks and the active participation and tripartite collaboration of workers, employers and governments,’ she says.
‘Further research is also needed to understand the long-term impacts of new technologies and respond accordingly. Risk assessment and management is essential to ensure a proactive approach to preventing potential new risks’ (see pages 48 to 51 for how new technologies are impacting the world of OSH).
Making matters worse, though, is that the unequal risk burden carried by workers in different regions is exacerbated by another global trend: climate change.
Looking after the humans in AI
Protecting those workers involved in training AI, such as data annotators and content moderators, will need to involve a multipronged approach. While OSH legal frameworks and legislation already exist internationally and at country level, Natalie Swan says, enforcement is rarely good enough.
‘We need to see an update of that legislation to include exposure to harmful content as an OSH hazard, and that continued acknowledgement of mental health as well as physical health being an OSH risk,’ Natalie says. This, she adds, needs to happen across the world at international and country level.
‘Businesses need to keep this high-risk activity within their own operations,’ she says. ‘They should be taking direct responsibility for the workers within them and developing their own policies, practices and training.
‘That means close, strategic, long-term relationships with providers, and guidance that could include financial support to ensure the health and safety of workers is protected.’
Natalie identifies a disappointing trend where workers are trying to unionise in these high-risk technology sectors, but their direct employers and technology companies are denying workers the
The majority of developing countries are in world regions which are suffering the strongest effects, including excessive heat, extreme weather events, and impacts on agriculture and health (Centre for Global Development, 2024) – and it’s workers who are on the frontline facing the biggest risks. (For more on how climate change affects workers, see our series in the March-April 2025 issue.)
Social sustainability at the start
‘The starting point for businesses should be sustainability in terms of their ability to continue to be profitable, but that has to go hand in hand alongside a sustainable global workforce that is treated fairly who reap the benefits of the service or product that company is providing,’ says Natalie.
right to freedom of association. ‘This is not a one-sided conversation between technology companies and their suppliers. It has to be collaborative,’ she says.
‘It has to be dialogue between all parties. There have to be negotiated settlements, the right to collective bargaining, the right to unionise, the right to whistle-blow, and you have to be able to do it safely. That’s how you start to build a sustainable industry that’s safe and fair.’
‘Rather than siloing human and environmental rights to one part of their business, these thought processes need to be integrated across the C-suite and put into procurement teams who are making these decisions to outsource.’
Ultimately, she says, ‘there needs to be a mind shift from companies to centre on human rights and health and safety, and not wait for the most egregious forms of abuse to happen, which is when you tend to see companies finally respond.’
Ruth Wilkinson CMIOSH, head of policy and public affairs at IOSH, agrees. ‘We believe social sustainability is the backbone of resilience, and OSH is fundamental to building and maintaining work, workforces, supply chains and communities that are sustainable for the future. Businesses should
put people first and recognise the value of their workers.
‘For that reason, IOSH encourages businesses to adopt forward-looking, long-term strategies and broader measures of social sustainability and human capital value. They should adopt enhanced disclosure and reporting frameworks to assess the value of the workforce and achieve better corporate human capital performance.’
The growing interest in the social dimension of sustainable development provides a huge opportunity for governments, businesses and OSH professionals to demonstrate the value that safe, healthy and well workers bring to businesses they work in, to the local communities they belong to, and to wider society, she explains.
‘IOSH believes safety, health and wellbeing should be recognised in the sustainability agenda,’ Ruth says. ‘It should be included more meaningfully in policy contexts, better reflected in sustainability reporting frameworks, and prioritised at business level – not only as a matter of legal compliance, but in recognition of its broader contribution to sustainable business and society.’
For references, visit ioshmagazine.com/ exporting-risk
Resources
Learn more about managing safety in outsourced relationships: iosh.com/media/nzyadnnv/ iosh-research-managing-safetyin-outsourced-relationshipssummary-report.pdf
Find out about IOSH’s principles of good OSH: iosh.com/principles
PRACTICE
EXPLORE SKILLS, IDEAS AND THEORIES
The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive obliges companies to report on environmental, social and governance factors. What do OSH professionals need to know?
WORDS ANNA SCOTT
This year marks the first that large companies in the EU must report their impacts on people and the environment under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Already, giants such as Unilever, Carlsberg and Nestlé have published their first reports in ‘wave 1’ of CSRD reporting.
‘The CSRD is a game-changer. It shifts organisations from siloed sustainability efforts to a more integrated view of [businesses’] environmental and social impacts,’ says Amanda Smith, executive vicepresident, product strategy, Cority.
As part of the EU’s plan to transform Europe into the world’s first climate-
neutral continent, the directive replaces the NonFinancial Reporting Directive (NFRD), establishing comprehensive environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting requirements within a distinct section of management reports (Grant Thornton, 2024).
HOW TO... GET TO GRIPS WITH CSRD REPORTING
‘This means companies will have additional tools to better identify and address adverse human rights and environmental impacts in their own operations, those of their subsidiaries and their chains of activities,’ says Iván Williams Jimenéz, senior policy and public affairs manager at IOSH. UK-incorporated companies with ‘substantial’ activity in the EU or securities listed on an EU-regulated market must start reporting in 2029, for the 2028 tax year (see timeline opposite). Estimates suggest that 1000 businesses which individually meet the reporting criteria have ultimate parent ownership based in the UK (Gardner, 2023).
Positive impacts
‘CSRD introduces clearer and more comprehensive standards, helping businesses develop a fuller picture of their
operations,’ says Amanda. ‘By embedding sustainability into corporate strategy – not just reporting – it encourages long-term thinking. Crucially, the CSRD also levels the playing field, requiring consistent, verifiable and comparable data. This transparency enables stakeholders to clearly see who’s making meaningful progress, and who isn’t.’
The rigour of extensive materiality assessments is likely to shine a spotlight on the sustainability risks companies face. But for OSH practitioners ‘these are well known, understood and managed, limiting the impact of the directive to business-as-usual’, according to James Hay, principal climate and sustainability adviser at Pinsent Masons.
‘This is already well understood by companies, and laws and regulations already exist to set minimum standards,’ he says. ‘However, because the CSRD requires reporting on the entire value chain, it may cause a company to contemplate OSH practices in its upstream supply chain, which goes beyond standard risk management.’
CSRD is also likely to make companies implement robust OSH data collection that exceeds existing requirements and to engage affected stakeholders. ‘Better visibility over relevant metrics may lead to better management of health and safety risks,’ James adds.
Even though the CSRD applies to businesses operating in the EU, it should be considered global legislation, according to Trevor Bronson, director of corporate strategy at Intelex Technologies. ‘That is the foundation – making sure companies everywhere are considering sustainability,’ he adds. ‘It forces them to prepare and have the systems in place to ensure they’re meeting the legislation’s requirements.’
Challenges
The flip side of this is achieving compliance, Trevor points out. ‘Setting up programmes is a challenge. Companies need to get the data and figure out how they are going to organise it internally. And unique to this is the talent required to do it.’
The CSRD requires companies to combine financial and non-financial data in new ways, which brings more complexity.
‘First, it demands cross-functional collaboration,’ Amanda says. ‘While focused on sustainability, the CSRD impacts the entire organisation. Finance, legal, HR, operations and sustainability teams all need to contribute.
‘Second, the concept of double materiality is new to many. Companies must assess not only how they impact the world, but also how global trends and sustainability risks might affect them. This requires specific expertise, detailed documentation and clear audit trails.’
The context of the legislation is fastchanging – the European Commission
CSRD reporting: A timeline
2025 EU-based companies with more than 500 employees, which are already subject to the NFRD, need to prepare their first reports for the 2024 financial year.
2026 EU-based companies that meet two of the following criteria – more than 250 employees, over €50m in net turnover, or over €25m in total assets – were due to report for the financial year 2025, but this may now be delayed by two years.
2027
SMEs listed on EUregulated markets (but not micro-enterprises) must prepare reports for the financial year 2026. However, they may also have the option to avoid it for an additional two years. Small and non-complex credit institutions and captive insurance undertakings must also file a report for the 2026 tax year.
2029 Non-EU companies with substantial activity in the EU and with a net turnover of more than €450m will need to report for the financial year 2028.
(EUROPEAN
adopted the ‘Omnibus I’ package at the end of February 2025 to simplify sustainability reporting. This means a potential two-year delay in the directive’s implementation for large companies that have not yet started reporting and listed SMEs.
‘The delay is intended to provide companies, smaller businesses in particular, with more time to prepare for the new
YOU CAN’T
CONTROL LEGISLATION
BUT YOU CAN CONTROL HOW MUCH YOU KNOW ABOUT IT
reporting requirements, given concerns by end users about the readiness and feasibility of meeting these new standards,’ Iván adds.
The Omnibus proposals could also streamline the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), under which a company must prepare its CSRD report. ‘This might involve the scaling back of relevant OSH data to be disclosed,’ James says. ‘There are also potential legal risks associated with significantly greater degrees of disclosure about certain topics, such as human rights or health and safety, that might be sensitive.’
What CSRD reports must cover
A report has four sections. In the first, General Information, OSH practitioners should help assess double materiality, providing evidence of how health and safety issues impact financial performance, and how business activities affect employees and communities.
In the second, Environmental Matters, practitioners should report on workplace environmental risks, including how the organisation manages chemical exposure, and compliance and training.
The third, Social Matters, covers injury rates, fatalities, near misses and occupational illnesses, psychosocial health programmes like stress management, burnout prevention and workplace harassment. It should also include safety management systems.
Governance Matters, the fourth, includes risk oversight and internal controls and ethics, including details of internal audits, codes of conduct, and monitoring practices related to worker health and safety, including those that apply to suppliers and partners.
The ESRS are ‘fairly prescriptive’ in the health and safety metrics to be included, according to James. ‘However, CSRD only requires companies to disclose metrics which are considered ‘material information’, which gives companies some flexibility on what metrics will be included in the Social Matters section.’
Reporting on supply chains
Another complexity is the need to include supply chains. ‘Assessing social sustainability performance across businesses’ supply chains is not an easy task,’ Iván says. ‘It will require a deep understanding of the ecosystem the business operates in and developing relationships with other areas such as procurement, compliance and HR.’ Technology will help. ‘One source of truth is really important because companies need to gather and provide data in a trackable way,’ Trevor says. ‘You’ll want to be able to demonstrate improvement on your supply chain risk and supply chain performance.’
Amanda adds: ‘Purpose-built platforms help companies stay current with regulatory updates, support tagging for XBRL [eXtensible Business Reporting Language] submissions and reduce errors. The most effective systems combine process management and audit readiness, and integrate with existing operational and business systems – all in a central, accessible platform.’
IOSH believes society will benefit from greater corporate transparency, which can help drive long-term performance and sustainability. The key message for OSH practitioners? ‘Educate yourself,’ says Trevor. ‘You cannot control the legislation, but you can control how much you know about it.’
For references, visit ioshmagazine.com/ CSRD-reporting
FUTURE OSH LEADERS
PREPARE
TO SUPPORT CSRD REPORTING
• Work out what your role is ‘What is your company expecting you to do – are you owner or contributor? Figure out how to prepare yourself,’ says Trevor Bronson.
• Build ESG literacy. ‘These are the ‘must use’ reporting standards: ISO 45001:2018, Occupational health and safety management systems; ISO 45004:2024, Occupational health and safety management and GRI 403: Occupational health and safety 2018; ISO 30414:2018, Human resource management, expected to be replaced by ISO/ DIS 30414, Human resource management; ISO 37005:2024, Governance of organizations,’ says Iván Williams Jiménez.
• Upskill on environmental topics. ‘Take courses in climate risk, pollution prevention, and waste management,’ says Amanda Smith.
• Deepen social impact knowledge. ‘Go beyond physical safety to understand human rights, fair labour practices, diversity and inclusion, and community engagement,’ says Amanda.
• Sharpen digital and data skills. ‘CSRD is data-heavy,’ says Amanda. ‘Learn to manage KPIs, work with software and collaborate with IT and data teams.’
• Stay connected. ‘Professional bodies like IOSH and the British Safety Council offer resources, training and guidance to support this evolution,’ Amanda says.
DOCKING BAYSAFETY
In the first of a new series of technical advice articles, we look at the potentially fatal risks present at docking bays – and how to control them.
WORDS DUNCAN SPENCER CFIOSH
What’s the issue?
Docking bays are key areas in which hazardous situations can develop. The bed of a lorry is typically 1.1m high, and the level of the docking bay floor is set at the same height. While that may not seem too elevated, were a forklift truck or mechanical handling equipment to tip over this edge, it could easily trap the operator beneath it.
Vehicles reversing on to the docking bay can crush a pedestrian against a wall. Lorries can drive away while mechanical handling equipment (MHE) is driving on to or off the bed of the lorry. Open doors provide opportunity for MHE to drive off the edge. All these events are potential fatalities.
What’s the challenge?
The control of the docking bay environment is therefore of crucial importance. Managing pedestrian movement, vehicle driver behaviour and MHE movements are key elements of any control system.
Pedestrians and vehicles do not mix. Reversing lorries have a large blind spot to the immediate rear of the vehicle.
Controls should focus on preventing pedestrians from being there, including the control of drivers walking to and from their vehicles, and cleaning workers and
maintenance operatives working in ‘live bays’. The next challenge is to ensure that lorries backed onto docking bays stay parked and do not move until they have been emptied and cleared for movement again. Doors on empty docks must be kept shut or fenced off if left open.
What are the common controls and how might they fail?
Safe lorry or shunter driver behaviour when reversing onto a docking bay is important. Employed drivers can be controlled through teaching safe driving behaviours, supervision and even the threat of disciplinary measures.
Consideration must be given to how agency workers are inducted and supervised, where they are allowed to work and what tasks they are allowed to do.
Visiting drivers from other businesses or countries may also be unfamiliar with the site. Think about how they receive information and instruction. This can be done by handing them a set of site instructions written in their language, or perhaps by escorting them around the site.
Once the vehicle is docked it is good practice to ask drivers to leave the vehicle, hand in their keys and wait in a rest area. Drivers must not be allowed to wait in their cabs. Having drivers out of their vehicles and without their keys prevents misunderstandings and driveaway incidents.
In many large warehouses, this control is often supported by a docking bay traffic light system, with the red light showing while the lorry is still being unloaded, and green when it is safe to move. The control for the traffic light is next to the docking bay and is activated by the unloading operative. They are instructed not to change the lights until the lorry and bay doors are shut. It is vital that the vehicle keys are not released
back to the driver until the doors have been shut.
Unloading procedures for the warehouse worker must therefore include the process for working the traffic light system and controlling the vehicle keys. Before unloading is started, the MHE operator must check that the lorry is parked properly. The operator is further protected by lowering a ramp (dock leveller) onto the back of the vehicle to bridge the gap. The control of MHE operator behaviour is necessary through training and supervising safe behaviours.
What else should be considered?
Agency workers may also be employed in the warehouse. Since this is a safety-critical operation, consideration should be given about induction content, supervision and rates of work for agency workers.
Work patterns may also affect performance. During intensive periods when many vehicles are arriving, unloading and departing, it is tempting for workers and managers to cut corners with procedures, especially if there is a queue. Similarly, shift work can lead to fatigue and mistakes. It is therefore important to carefully consider how procedures are supervised, and management arrangements made, during busy and pressured times.
One of the most challenging factors to control is the work of contractors. If contractors are there to work on door mechanisms, traffic lights, broken down vehicles and so on, they will have to operate in this busy and unsafe area. The movement of vehicles near contractors must be controlled and permission only given to work in quiet periods of the day. They may even need a banksman to help to control traffic around them.
Other
reflections
If any of these controls are allowed to degrade over time, or a mistake is made resulting in a near miss, then the organisation must take it with the same seriousness that would have been applied if a fatality had occurred. Not to do so means that valuable learning might be lost. How
REVIEW
Test your system
The following questions can be applied to test your arrangements:
• Are you satisfied that all drivers – whether employed, agency or visiting – understand the site rules?
• Is it possible for a lorry driver to obtain vehicle keys before it is fully unloaded?
• How effective is the docking bay traffic light system and have there been any instances of false indication?
• How confident are you that near-miss drive-aways are being identified, reported and appropriately investigated?
• Are you reviewing the content of risk assessments, procedures, induction and training programmes often enough?
• What assurance does the organisation’s leadership seek about the control of this risk?
performance is monitored, incidents are reported and investigated, and the learning is shared are important aspects of the safety management system; so are the routine inspections and audits that prove the management system is working.
The use of docking bays is normally a crucial aspect of a warehousing operation. Consideration should also be given to maintaining business continuity, especially after an incident, an adverse weather event, during power failure and so on. Such considerations may form part of business continuity or disaster planning.
HSE guidance: b.link/HSE-workplacetransport
Recent legal cases: b.link/IOSH-21112024
b.link/IOSH-07122023
b.link/IOSH-19062023
KILLER Stone cold
Silicosis caused by working with engineered stone is on the rise. Could it become the biggest lung disease crisis since asbestosis?
WORDS EMMA BENNETT
Anyone looking to renovate their kitchen has probably considered engineered or artificial stone for their worktop. Often referred to as quartz, it’s increasingly popular as it offers a luxury finish at an affordable price. But the link between the increased use of engineered stone and a rise in cases of silicosis – an irreversible and potentially deadly lung disease – is prompting authorities around the world to consider tighter controls and regulation.
In 2024, Australia became the first country to ban the use, supply and manufacture of engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs following a rise in cases; as many as one in four workers employed in the Australian industry before 2018 have been
diagnosed with silicosis and other silica dust diseases (Department of Health and Aged Care, 2023). Worldwide, more than 230 million workers are exposed to crystalline silica every year (Sherekar et al, 2025).
Hazardous to health
Silica is found in most natural stone – granite contains 10% to 45%, while marble typically has less than 5% silica, but the concentrations in engineered stone are much higher, at up to 97% (Houlroyd, 2023). When engineered stone is processed, or cut, dust containing carcinogenic respirable crystalline silica (RCS) is released into the air.
Silica dust is often compared to asbestos, which can also cause serious illnesses including fatal cancers and asbestosis
when workers breathe in the fibres. With asbestos, symptoms usually appear 20 to 30 years after exposure. But Dr Karen Michell CMIOSH, research programme lead (occupational health) at IOSH, says the higher concentrations of silica in engineered stone are causing people to develop severe health issues much faster.
‘With traditional silica exposure, we would expect to see people with silicosis in their 50s, with around 25 years’ latency,’ she said. ‘Suddenly we’ve got much younger workers who, after 10 years, have accelerated silicosis and are so unwell they can no longer work, they need lung transplants, and in some cases, they lose their life to the disease.’
A recent study reported the UK’s first eight cases of silicosis caused by engineered stone
(Feary et al, 2024). It found that this new form of silicosis was characterised by a much shorter duration of exposure than seen previously (the median exposure was 12.5 years, but in half of the cases it was four to eight years). The men had a median age of 34, and all had been dry cutting and polishing engineered stone worktops with inadequate safety measures in place.
Too little, too late
Karen explains: ‘This work is labourintensive, so those affected are often young men employed by SMEs, with little or no understanding of the risks involved, and the controls in place are not effective at protecting workers. Many are also migrant or contract workers who might fear losing their jobs if they speak up.’
The nature of the disease also means that by the time patients realise something is wrong, it’s often too late. ‘Symptoms are progressive,’ says Karen. ‘So what might start like a cold or flu then turns to a persistent cough and develops into a shortness of breath. When they finally see a health professional, there’s already significant damage – and there’s no cure.
‘We need to develop health surveillance programmes, with regular spirometry testing to check lung function, as well as chest X-rays and low dose CT radiology to pick up the signs of damage early.’
Since the first UK cases were reported in 2024, a further 21 have been identified
(British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS), 2025) – with a rising number of workers taking legal action against their employers. In January, Warmsworth Stone Limited, a stonemasonry firm in Doncaster, was fined £18,000 plus costs by the GB Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for ‘repeatedly’ failing to protect workers.
Under pressure
Law firm Leigh Day, which took its first engineered stone silicosis case in 2023, has seen a sudden rise in enquiries in the last six months from workers suffering with the disease. Ewan Tant, a partner at the firm, who specialises in industrial disease claims, explains: ‘We’re now in the low double figures of silicosis cases [per year in the UK]. With these new cases related to engineered stone, the clients are in much worse health than we have previously seen.
‘It means we’re working under time pressure to progress cases quickly, because you might not be able to reach a settlement before someone dies.’
This was true for Marek Marzek, a 48-year-old father of three, who spent 12 years working for an engineered stone manufacturer in north London before being diagnosed with silicosis. He began legal action against his former employers, represented by Leigh Day, but died in November 2024 before it could be concluded. The case is ongoing, with the firm now representing his family.
Cases are not always straightforward, explains Ewan. ‘As employer liability cases, we have to establish a duty of care, which can be tricky when people are self-employed. Then we need to prove a breach of duty by looking at the main legislation relating to silica dust, COSHH [Control of Substances Hazardous to Health regulations] and HSE guidance for employers. And then causation – establishing that the breaches led to the diagnosis.’
In the UK, the EH40 standard sets a workplace exposure limit of 0.1mg/m3, although the legal duty is to reduce exposure as far below that as reasonably practicable. Australia and the US consider ‘safe’ levels to be no more than 0.05mg/m3.
What is silicosis?
Silicosis is the irreversible scarring of lung tissue caused when respirable crystalline silica is breathed in. This can cause:
Shortness of breath
Chronic coughing
It can also lead to other complications, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, kidney disease, tuberculosis and lung cancer.
Ewan says that in many cases clients are reporting appalling working practices – dusty conditions, variable water suppression and inadequate respiratory protection – and calls for more to be done to protect workers.
A perfect storm
While rising cases of silicosis have been reported in Belgium, Spain, Italy, Israel, China and the US, so far Australia remains the only country to have implemented a ban on some engineered stone products (ones that do not need to be processed or modified are excluded, as are porcelain or sintered stone products).
Importation was banned from January 2025.
The Safe Work Australia report (2023) that led to the ban found there was ‘no evidence’ that lower levels of crystalline silica could be safe for workers. It said: ‘The only way to ensure that another generation of Australian workers do not contract silicosis from such work is to prohibit its use, regardless of its silica content.’ Naturally occurring high-silica materials are still legal.
In California, new regulations for companies involved in the manufacturing of engineered stone came into force earlier this year. This followed research that found 18 cases of silicosis in four US states, including two fatalities in California (California Department of Industrial Relations, 2023). The regulations mandate regular medical examinations for employees exposed to
silica for more than 30 days a year, as well as requiring them to measure exposure to silica dust, implement a written control plan and report confirmed silicosis cases.
Workplace regulations in the UK require employers to ensure the safety of their employees, avoiding or reducing their exposure to harmful substances. But until recently there was very little mention of silica dust. While advising on a report by the AllParty Parliamentary Group for Respiratory Health into silicosis, the BOHS worked closely with the HSE to update its guidance.
BOHS chief executive Professor Kevin Bampton says: ‘From 2021, we have warned regulators and legislators of problems leading to a perfect storm. We needed to make it really clear what people running small businesses need to do to ensure adequate control.’
Education and awareness
The updated guidance, together with BOHS’s free online training tool and technical control sheet, outlines several control measures for businesses. These include using well-managed water suppression, ventilation and extraction, and safe working practices such as regular wet cleaning, and the provision of suitable respiratory protective equipment (RPE). (For more on RPE, see pages 60 to 63.)
But as for calls to follow Australia’s lead, Kevin says banning engineered stone is too difficult. ‘Unless you have a mineralogist
Silicosis
deaths worldwide were caused by occupational exposure to silica in 2019
600 K
workers in the UK are exposed to silica dust every year
500
UK construction workers die each year from silicosis
4 K deaths a yearfromCOPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) are linked to silica in the UK 75 K cases of silicosis in the UK are easily preventable
Silicosis scars and stiffens lung tissue, and can lead to respiratory failure
checking every slab that’s imported, you’re relying on the products being properly labelled to know whether something contains zero silica or 90% silica. Then you’re in a worse situation because you don’t know what controls you need to apply.’
Instead, he advocates better education for those working in high-risk industries, using resources such as BOHS’s Breathe Freely.
Shaun Lundy CFIOSH, chair of the IOSH Construction Committee and chief strategy officer at property risk management consultancy Tetra Consulting, says: ‘We as OSH professionals need to help workers understand the importance of health, not just physical safety. That means educating them on the impact of long-term exposure to silica, in a way that doesn’t make them feel like they’re doing something wrong. We need to walk in their shoes and understand their challenges, as well as where the risks are and who is at risk.
EDUCATION IS VITAL. MANY YOUNG PEOPLE ARE UNAWARE OF SILICA RISKS
‘This is especially important for young people, many of whom are unaware of the dangers. We want them to live long, healthy lives, so having those conversations and rolling out repeated education campaigns will help the message to sink in and lead to behaviour change.’
He also stresses the importance of the hierarchy of control. Section 7 of COSHH states that exposure to substances hazardous to health must be prevented or, where prevention is not reasonably practicable, adequately controlled. Eliminating the hazard comes before PPE.
A breath of fresh air
Specification made easy with Dräger Powered Air Purifying Respirators (PAPR)
While silicosis is not a notifiable disease under RIDDOR in the UK, exposure monitoring should be carried out regularly, with records kept for at least 40 years.
Paul Griffiths, head of SHEQ at Seddon Construction Ltd and a member of the IOSH Construction Community, says practitioners need to go beyond providing information and training. ‘We have a duty to ensure the preventative measures we put in place are suitably controlling the risk – for example, extraction equipment is connected properly and in good working order,’ he says.
‘And we need to be brave enough to challenge the misconceptions workers have that they’ll be okay, they’re “only” drilling a few holes or cutting some stone. We must challenge those beliefs and behaviours as well as our own, and focus on doing what’s right.’
For references, visit ioshmagazine.com/ silicosis-crisis
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SCAN
AUTOMATION nation
IOSH’s future of work report asked the question: what if new technologies to improve worker protection create other health, safety and wellbeing risks? Here we explore what the dangers are and how we might mitigate them.
WORDS JOHN WINDELL
Technology is transforming the world of work at a rate not seen since the Industrial Revolution 250 years ago. But while we clearly live in a time of seismic change, it’s more difficult to understand exactly what shape the new way of doing things might take.
The task of resolving these issues is taxing the finest minds, not least that of the Nobel Prize-winning economist Professor Sir Christopher Pissarides, who has headed an in-depth review for the Institute for the Future of Work, culminating in the recently published review into the future of work and wellbeing (2025) (see Insights from the Pissarides review, overleaf). The review proposes a new model of ‘humancentred automation, a comprehensive socio-technical approach that understands technological transformation as highly interconnected, and interdependent with socioeconomic change’.
and other harm. Dr Chris Davis, thought leadership manager at IOSH, identifies three possible advantages: ‘First, the potential to remove workers from dangerous work. Second, data-driven applications, often linked to AI [artificial intelligence], can sift through vast reserves of data and make connections that are beyond humans or would take years. Third, the technology can give workers a central role in the management of their own safety and health.’
Fine-grained analysis
IOSH has also been pondering what is to come. Its report Towards a safe and healthy future of work (IOSH and Arup, 2024) examines three categories in which developments are coming online: manufacturing, hardware and applications (such as smart sensors, cobots, drones and additive manufacturing); experiences and interfaces (such as virtual and augmented reality, wearables, exoskeletons and human implant technology); and advanced computing, data and AI (such as the Internet of Things, next-generation voice assistants and computer vision).
In OSH terms, the key selling point for this tech is that it holds the promise of further protection for workers from accidents
AI and large-scale data are the specialist subjects of Professor Gina Neff, executive director at the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy, University of Cambridge, who agrees that their great potential is to deliver real-time analytics and deep insights into fine-grained processes. ‘Depending on how companies use this power, they can do a lot to further worker safety and health,’ she says. ‘There are already companies that are gathering information to identify and prevent future injuries.’
sensors, require good-quality data, which is often personal data,’ says Chris. The associated ethical and security threats are not easily dismissed. Neither is the negative potential of new tech on work relations.
‘Organisations may introduce tech interventions that hold massive promises to revolutionise work and management, but if the infrastructure isn’t set up for it, it begins to raise questions around trust and motivation.’
HOW MUCH SHOULD YOUR BOSS KNOW ABOUT YOU?
What of the physical safety risks surrounding new technologies? One clear need, says Gina, is to understand better how humans and tech work together. ‘This relates to how people work with automated physical systems in places like warehouses, but also how people understand and work with digital or virtual systems. Ensuring that we have safe working environments where people can thrive is going to be extraordinarily important as we begin to unlock the full potential of what AI can do.’
While the promise is evident, there are two ways of looking at the increasing integration of digital technology into the working environment, says Professor Phoebe Moore of the University of Essex, who is also director of the Essex Artificial Intelligence Policy Observatory for the World of Work: ‘One can be that it’s going to enhance safety and health. But the other side is that it could potentially disrupt working time and change the way that work and performance is measured.’
The rapid spread of new tech, combined with bad actors and deregulation, might even culminate in products that not only fail to serve safety and health purposes but could be dangerous. (See the article on deregulation in our May-June 2025 issue.)
Related to this is the enduring issue of the collection and use of personal data. ‘Many of these applications, such as wearables and
The breakneck speed of technological progress will ultimately be tempered by the moderating influence of OSH, but Gina believes the two forces need not be mutually exclusive: ‘We have to have both, the spirit of rapid innovation that helps us push growth forward, while making systems and environments safe for people to work in.’
Psychosocial safety
In building those safe environments, the psychosocial element should not be overlooked. While slips, trips, falls and other physical incidents are still paramount, the addition of digital environments and platforms, along with the measurement and monitoring of work and performance, mean that psychological issues may become more prevalent, even with tech that purports to track health and wellness.
‘How much should your boss know about you?’ asks Phoebe. ‘Collecting a lot of data about someone could create a psychosocial risk because it makes them feel stressed and anxious.’
Informed consent is a firm requirement, she says. ‘If there’s no capacity for meaningful refusal, there isn’t sufficient protection. And what does it mean when data is collected about me that reads my emotions? That is an invasion of privacy, and privacy should be protected in a good safety and health programme.’
Echoing the call for responsible innovation, Phoebe also says that physical and psychological safeguards are needed right from the beginning to ensure that any new tech doesn’t come at the expense of workers’ protection and rights.
‘Safety and health matters should be built into it. For example, with autonomous robots in factory spaces, there are already cases where people have been knocked over and killed [eg Atkinson, 2023]. That’s an enormous physical risk, and the protection should have been built into the machine.’
OSH voices
Given the potential of new tech to alter the health and safety landscape, does this mean that the role and expertise of OSH professionals will also need to change?
In fact, Chris argues that their function will remain close to what it is today, which is to introduce the needs of safety and
health at the outset. ‘That’s been difficult historically, and I think it’s the same challenge with tech, having a voice in those early conversations, not as a stopper but as a responsible voice that asks the question, “What will the impact be?”’
These OSH voices could be a vital check against those who are more easily seduced by the solutions that tech offers – but they also need a balance of their own, says Chris, in the sense of allowing for a range of attitudes to tech, from phobics to early adopters and all shades in between. Wherever they land on this spectrum, the OSH professional needs to be well informed, and while this doesn’t mean they have to become overnight experts in AI, they do need to grasp how it may affect their particular industry and work systems. ‘It’s a general digital literacy that individuals may need – for example, understanding the difference between good information and bad information,’ Chris says.
So OSH professionals may find themselves becoming even stronger advocates for safety-first designs that ensure human workers are the most vital concern. Gina agrees that they need to understand how new tech and AI systems fit into their specific settings.
Insights from the Pissarides review
From extensive evidence gathered over three years, including surveys, the Pissarides review into the future of work and wellbeing has yielded a number of key findings, such as:
• Almost eight out of 10 firms surveyed have adopted AI, robotic or automated tech. Most workers say they are already using it.
• Job quality, creation and access, and worker wellbeing are all being affected in negative and positive ways.
• Social and technical skills are being combined to cope with and shape the transition to new tech.
• Outcomes are better for both when firms prioritise employee wellbeing. High levels of information and consultation are required, as is a deep understanding of risks.
• Enhanced participation, support, agency and learning are key factors in securing better outcomes for individuals and firms.
• Spending on support, including people, gives better results from technological transformation.
• ‘Tech for good’ is not inevitable. Routinisation, intensification and a lower level of discretion may result, negatively impacting wellbeing and perceived safety.
• New tech is associated with feelings of anxiety and insecurity. Trust requires active stakeholder engagement and support for workers, including boosted employment rights.
In summary, says the review, AI and automation can lead to a fairer future of better work, but attitudes must change, and trust must be built.
‘This is one of the big gaps in research and in practice,’ she says. ‘Many of these systems have been developed with a general user in mind and miss some of the clarity that comes with specific applications. OSH professionals are good at taking a code of practice and applying it to their specific workplaces, and I predict that skill will be incredibly important in the medium term as more companies make this leap into AIpowered systems.’
Questions to consider
The challenges presented by new tech remain considerable, and maintaining positive safety cultures will require even greater effort. So, what might moving from general principles to specific workplace applications look like?
Understanding the sources of AI training data are key. Securing the supply chain of data is also vital, and OSH professionals will need to understand where internal and external threats exist for their own systems.
They will also need to become familiar with a range of new issues, such as ‘cognitive offloading’. This can, for example, be a problem in autonomous driving tech: a human driver is retained, but can become too reliant on the system, overestimating its capacity, and be lulled into a false sense of assurance that nothing can go wrong.
‘The problem is we’ve thought of AI safety and security in the abstract, and haven’t really developed it from the ground up,’ says Gina.
Dialogue, testing and impact assessments will remain crucial, says Phoebe. A key question to ask is to what extent the tech is likely to create stressful situations – and this question needs to be asked before any potential integration.
‘We also need to be a lot more confident to talk about simply not introducing a technology, rather than assuming technology provides solutions,’ she says. ‘If workers face risks, they need to be addressed early, and there needs to be a discussion about why a technology investment is happening at all. Health and safety professionals and trade unions
HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT OSH PRINCIPLES ARE STILL RELEVANT
should not have to be in a situation where they feel like they’re banging down a door. Discussions should be happening automatically, because clearly that’s what’s best for workers.’
Even so, much of this new tech will be unavoidable – indeed, a great proportion is already being implemented – and in light of that, professionals should not automatically regard these developments as either a threat or a solution, says Chris.
‘Go back to basics and have confidence that principles are still relevant, albeit they
need to be applied a little more flexibly perhaps. In this sense, I think the more proactive we can be, the better we’ll all be,’ he says.
Gina adds that the potential of technology to replace people is being overplayed. ‘Having spent 16 years doing a deep dive into the automation of design in the building sector, I firmly believe that the idea of mass job displacement is missing the complexities of what it takes to get these technologies to work in specific workplaces. That’s where I think workers are going to have a much bigger role to play than we are giving them credit for.’
This bigger role, and the implication of greater personal agency, may be one way to avoid over-reliance on systems that are pushing for speed and scale and in the process lose sight of people’s rights. Examples of how badly things can go wrong include the Robodebt welfare scandal in Australia and the Post Office Horizon saga in the UK, in which inflexible automated systems harassed and harmed members of the public.
‘I see extraordinary challenges when designing these systems. The problem comes when we use computational systems to make decisions,’ says Gina. ‘I’m generally optimistic, but multiply the outcomes like that a thousand-fold, and on my worst days I fear that’s what we’re going to be facing.’
For references, visit ioshmagazine. com/new-technologies
An upskilling ROAD MAP
How future-ready are your OSH skills? Technical know-how is important, but horizon-scanning and networking will be crucial to maintain influence in a world of technological advancements.
WORDS PETER CRUSH
In 2020, the Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health published an influential piece of research which argued that ‘rapid and profound changes anticipated in the future of work’ would have significant implications for OSH professionals (Newman et al, 2020).
Among its concerns was whether OSH leaders were adequately expanding their focus to include new hazards around the health and wellbeing of a distributed workforce. Also considered were aspects such as the OSH impacts of increasingly non-standard work arrangements (what the authors called the ‘increasing reliance on the informal sector and hazardous work exposures’), as well as psychosocial stressors, the role of technology and the related intensification of work demands.
Its conclusion was stark: ‘The OSH field will need an expanded, more holistic focus to address challenges and changes posed by FOW [future of work] scenarios to prepare the professionals of the future.’
It continued: ‘This will require greater inter-professionalism and collaborative organisational leadership.’ In short – a more systems-thinking approach would be needed.
Five years later, with arguably many of these anticipated trends already coming to fruition, the question of whether the skill-sets of OSH professionals are future-ready has never been more important. So much so, that skills will be one of the leading streams of conversation at the 2025 Global Initiative for Safety, Health and Wellbeing (GISHW) expo in Japan.
A landmark moment
The big theme of the six-month expo is ‘Designing future society for our lives’ but, in partnership with GISHW, IOSH is staging a two-day World Assembly for OSH, HR and related communities in July.
It represents, says Marijana Živković Mtegha, strategic engagement manager at IOSH, a ‘landmark moment to
mobilise and agree upon shared objectives in a declaration and road map to advance safe and healthy work for the future’. This is badly needed.
‘Where do you want to start in terms of what’s now covered by OSH?’ asks Tim Tregenza, senior network manager, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA).
‘When you start to look at things closely, it soon becomes apparent that the scope of OSH is broader than once considered. Digitalisation is changing not only the hazards and risks in the workplace, but also how the OSH manager manages these risks.
‘Broader themes such as climate change, global supply chains, migration and demographic change also impact on
THE OSH ROLE IS NOW AS MUCH ABOUT MANAGEMENT AS IT IS ABOUT HEALTH AND SAFETY
safety and health at work. OSH can also be seen as moving closer to public health topics, such as the impact of psychosocial risk factors on workers’ mental health or the raised risk of cardiovascular disease due to prolonged sitting or standing at work.’
He adds: ‘Digitalisation is a huge challenge; safety and health managers have new tools available for prevention that can generate masses of data –both worker-specific information as well as process data – but this has to be collected, used, stored and shared appropriately. The OSH professional will be increasingly concerned with understanding prevention methodologies, data management and developing leadership competencies.’
According to Tim, the traditional ‘place’ OSH has occupied in organisations is evolving, and he wonders if OSH experts
are doing enough to pivot to where they need to be.
‘A lot of the change that’s needed is about anticipating and recognising these trends are happening,’ he says. ‘The job is now as much about management as about safety and health. The OSH professional must have influence – but how many really have a desire to sit on the board, or be in a management and leadership position, to speak about good safety and health being good business?’
As he explains, the recently published findings of the EU-OSHA ESENER IV survey showed that just under twothirds of establishments in the EU report using the services of an external OSH provider, particularly in the larger enterprises (EU-OSHA, 2024). This may mean that the OSH professional is even further removed from management.
Psychosocial safety
The notion that a more holistic view is needed comes straight out of the ‘worker-wellbeing-as-an-outcome’ approach to OSH, and according to Peter Jenkins CertIOSH, lead facilitator at consultancy firm Simple Foundry, and a former Future Leaders Community Steering Group member, this new narrative needs getting used to.
‘OSH professionals must balance protecting the business with protecting its people,’ he says. ‘Businesses (rightly or wrongly) thrive off discretionary effort. But we’re seeing a decline in employee tolerance to certain conditions. Should an employer work with a divisive supplier, that will have a psychosocial effect and discretionary effort will reduce.’
He adds: ‘Health and safety is moving into the optimisation of business processes space, enhancing productivity through employees feeling included in a safe [but mentally safe] and equitable environment. The outcomes OSH professionals need to create go beyond reduction of injuries to employees feeling respected, engaged and empowered.’
If all this sounds like occupational health professions needing to veer into HR activities – including creating more socially sustainable organisations –commentators are unapologetic of where skill shifts are needed.
‘It’s apparent that while there has always been an HR/pastoral element to occupational health, the line between OSH and HR is becoming increasingly blurred,’ says Prakash Senghani, cofounder and CEO at Navatech, a digital construction thought leader. ‘ESG, how ‘connected’ people feel at work: it’s all merging – but am I seeing more chief safety officers on boards? No. But it’s as enablers of good work, rather than of policing, that OSH professionals now need to be.’
Social sustainability
Nowhere are issues like this more apparent than around the growing concept of socially sustainable enterprises – which encapsulates the notion that organisations must recognise and prioritise the adoption of a holistic person-centred approach to everything they do.
This is underpinned by having thoughtful management of employee safety, as well as good health and wellbeing practices. It specifically links creating lasting organisational value, profit and performance to the concept of cultivating sustainable workforces. The IOSH position is that social sustainability is the backbone of resilience, and that OSH is fundamental to building and maintaining work and workforces. The United Nations’ own 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) partially recognise this, with SDG8 calling for more ‘decent work’.
The OSH profession was working on sustainability long before SDGs were published – it is even recognised as part of the IOSH competency framework.
But Duncan Spencer CFIOSH, IOSH’s head of advice and practice, says that OSH professionals haven’t always communicated this role back to the
business using the right language. In fact, being able to speak the language of the boardroom is where he thinks OSH professionals need some development.
‘In my own experience with large corporates, I learned very quickly that you have to use business language to ensure that leadership can truly understand OSH concepts well.
‘When something new comes along – like AI – the skill is being able to interpret its impact and communicate it in a way that resonates with business leaders.’
The good news is that Duncan says this is a call to action, rather than a cause for alarm. ‘As OSH professionals,
OSH PROFESSIONALS NEED TO BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY ABOUT NEW TECHNOLOGIES
we already have the transferable skills we need,’ he says. ‘We just need to apply what we know and communicate it better when new risk areas, such as technology, arise. First, we need to understand it; second, we need to be able to describe it in the way our audience understands. It’s about command of language.’
Leaning into soft skills
One skill upgrade he does suggest is the OSH professional’s ability to use technology to set what he calls a ‘baseline measurement before an intervention’. That way, he says, professionals can show whether there has been a return on investment at the end of the project.
He says: ‘Things like AI, big data and other analysis techniques are tools to assist in this process. In the end, it will always come down to the application of a human’s critical thinking that will provide proper interpretation of the results such technology produces.’
It’s no surprise, perhaps, that more than half of IOSH’s competency framework focuses on core and behavioural skills – as
The OSH professional’s role has expanded from core physical safety to a holistic understanding of wellbeing
Future roles for practitioners
Safety salespeople
‘OSH professionals must develop business acumen and communication skills, and become safety salespeople’, according to the US journal Professional Safety (Law, 2020).
Value engineers
The role of OSH professionals should be reconceptualised as a continuous improvement expert, or ‘value engineer’ – as opposed to just a problem solver or enforcer, says the International Network of Safety and Health Practitioner Organisations (2017).
Transdisciplinary experts
Newman et al (2020) propose a need for professionals to take a transdisciplinary approach ‘to promote the safety, health, wellbeing, and productivity of workers in the face of forces including global pandemics, climate change, changes in work and worker demographics, new technologies, varying work arrangements, and profound changes in our work and home environments’.
a way of enabling those with technical skills to actually influence change in their organisation.
‘While there’s absolutely a need for technical skills still, it’s the critical thinking that now needs to come first,’ says Peter. But one problem, he observes, is that organisations can themselves throw up barriers.
‘OSH professionals are – unfortunately –often a reflection of the business they work in, and if they’ve not had the good fortune to work in an organisation that forces this growth, then their ability to effect change will be limited.
‘Fundamentally, though, if they can delve more into the data they have – including that of their supply chains – their standing improves. For instance, how many OSH professionals correlate opt-outs from the Working Time Directive with stress, accidents, illness or injury? These are the sorts of investigations that are needed.’
Building connections
Without doubt, Prakash says, OSH professionals need to better plan around an expanded suite of known risks (including changes in demographics, climate, global supply chains and workload patterns) and then apply the right data and technology approach to it, which in turn generates business buy-in.
‘I don’t think OSH professionals are necessarily under-skilled, but they are under-appreciated,’ he says. ‘And they can build in better credibility by applying tools that better help them to move away from overly heavy governance to more nuanced interventions.’
But once they do this, says Matthew Olota, president-elect at the International Occupational Hygiene Association, they need to find allies in their organisation.
‘We all need to talk about the evolution in OSH,’ he says. ‘In a climate of cost cutting, and where numbers of actual OSH professionals could be in shorter supply, OSH professionals need to make more partnerships.’
He argues that it’s only through this that widened safety concepts extend their reach. ‘OSH professionals need to accept that they may need to identify who is more influential than they in their organisation to develop new approaches. This may include HR, managers and even employees themselves. Everyone will need to wear an OSH cap.’
Tim agrees: ‘For some issues, the HR department could be the strongest ally of the OSH professional, particularly around addressing psychosocial risk factors such as work-related stress, third-party violence and bullying and harassment. The point, though, is not arguing about who takes the lead, but just devising a way to look forward, relate it to the way the organisation is moving, and being able to judge the right risks and responses.’
It seems OSH professionals will need to be less coy about who they seek support from, if it helps the greater good and the future sustainability of businesses.
‘Do we share enough best practice globally, through institutions or academia, or through governmental networks? Probably not,’ says Matthew.
As Duncan concludes: ‘While OSH professionals are still required to work reactively, they must be capable of horizon scanning too. OSH needs to be led – in part – by organisational purpose and activity, but also see how technology and new ways of working are being adopted. The principal role of an OSH professional remains recommending preventive risk controls. But we cannot do it alone because safety management systems are usually delivered by proxy through management.
‘Our challenge continues to be leading risk assessment creation – whatever the source of that risk to human safety and health – and then move this from being ‘an interesting read to truly informing timely decision-making during the normal ebb and flow of business operations.’
For references, visit ioshmagazine.com/ future-OSH-skills
THE BUSINESS
1 What actually is AI?
It’s technology that enables computers and machines to simulate human learning, comprehension, problem solving, decision making, creativity and autonomy. (IBM, 2024)
ELEVATE OSH IN YOUR ORGANISATION
THE HUMAN’S GUIDE TO AI
Confused about AI? Here’s everything you wanted to know about AI but were too afraid to ask.
2 What can AI do?
• ‘See’ and identify objects
• Understand and respond to human language
• Learn from new information and experience
• Act independently, without human intelligence or intervention. (IBM, 2024)
3 How did AI get here?
1950s – artificial intelligence (machines that show human intelligence) 1980s – machine learning (AI systems that learn from historical data) 2010s – deep learning (machine learning models that mimic human brain function) 2020s – generative AI (deep learning models that create content). (IBM, 2024)
4 Who named it ‘artificial intelligence’?
The term was devised by computer scientist John McCarthy in 1955. But it was nearly called ‘automata studies’, ‘neural cybernetics’, ‘non-numerical computing’ and other names. (MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW, 2024)
5
How does AI work?
AI systems learn and improve by being exposed to large amounts of data, enabling them to identify patterns and relationships that would be difficult or even impossible for humans to notice.
The learning process involves the use of algorithms – sets of rules or instructions – to guide the AI’s analysis and decision-making.
In machine learning, AI is trained on labelled or unlabelled
8
What are some of the risks of AI?
• Bias
• Cyber-security threats
• Data privacy
• Environmental harm
data to make predictions and categorise information.
In deep learning, artificial neural networks with multiple layers are used to process information, learn and adapt.
In generative AI, machine learning and deep learning are used to analyse large datasets and create new content in different modalities. It is able to turn text into an image, an image into a song or video into text as desired. The results are often indistinguishable from humanmade content. (GOOGLE CLOUD; MICROSOFT; NVIDIA)
• Existential danger
• Intellectual property infringement
• Job losses
• Lack of accountability
• Lack of explainability and transparency
• Misinformation and manipulation. (IBM, 2024)
9
What legislation governs AI?
6
How is AI accessed?
Google search now automatically provides an AI overview above specific results.
Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot are AI assistants integrated into existing digital platforms.
ChatGPT and DeepSeek are among many AI apps now available.
7 Why is AI suddenly everywhere?
Humans have always loved inventions that made life easier and the latest forms of AI serve this desire to an unprecedented extent.
The development of GenAI means that anyone can quickly and easily create content – like never before. It’s everything the world of social media wants.
GenAI tools are now widely available and cheap or free.
The EU AI Act was passed in 2024 and came into force in August that year. It seeks to control risk and ensure transparency. For example, chatbot users must be informed that they are interacting with a machine and AI-generated content must be labelled as such. It is the world’s first comprehensive legal framework for AI.
The UK is currently looking into AI legislation, with the Artificial Intelligence (Regulation) Bill under debate.
In May this year, the US House of Representatives controversially passed a 10-year ban on states enforcing their own AI laws. However, it faces opposition in the Senate. (EUROPEAN COMMISSION, 2024; UK PARLIAMENT, 2025; THE NATIONAL LAW REVIEW, 2025)
10
What can’t AI do – for now?
Create something truly original
Since its power is based on analysing existing information, it recombines what is already there to produce a ‘new’ version. This is the case even for GenAI. According to Forbes, AI can point the way to best practice but can’t deliver ‘next practice’.
Resources
• Google Cloud’s ‘What is artificial intelligence (AI)?’
• IBM’s ‘Understanding the different types of artificial intelligence’
• TechTarget’s ‘The history of artificial intelligence: Complete AI timeline’
• IBM’s ‘10 AI dangers and risks and how to manage them’
• An amazing example of what AI can do: b.link/LI_AndrewTindallAI
mistakes and stumbled into beneficial new creations – like velcro, insulin and penicillin.
Use soft skills
Listening deeply, challenging assumptions and navigating disagreement are still best done by humans. The so-called soft skills are now a competitive edge for people.
Develop meaningful and collaborative relationships
Be curious
Some of history’s greatest discoveries happened by chance because people had an instinct to explore and experiment, they made
Interactions with AI are transactional, based on giving prompts and getting answers. There is no true collaboration or teamwork with AI.
(FORBES, 2025)
The world of work is evolving more rapidly than has been seen in my entire 35-year career. Artificial intelligence (AI), smart devices and data-driven technologies are now being embedded across every part of the business lifecycle. These tools are not theoretical; they are live, evolving and already influencing decisionmaking, risk assessment and productivity.
Having delivered AI-focused insights to politicians, governments, academics, business leaders and OSH professionals, I find that fewer than 3% of any audience feel confident in their understanding of AI. This is deeply concerning.
If OSH professionals are to have a meaningful voice in boardrooms when discussing strategically the future of work, they must develop digital fluency and the confidence to sit alongside other leaders. Yet many OSH practitioners remain on the sidelines. That needs to change.
Predicting the impossible
Digital transformation in OSH is not about replacing professionals; it’s about empowering them. AI enables the kind of predictive risk modelling that once seemed impossible. Through algorithms that analyse thousands of data points, we can now forecast where incidents are most likely to occur and intervene before they happen.
Tools using natural language processing (NLP) and image analysis are being deployed to detect hazards, support incident investigations and streamline compliance.
Making friends with AI
Karl Simons OBECMIOSH, chief futurist and co-founder
of
FYLD, explains the importance of digital fluency if OSH professionals are to leverage AI to its fullest potential.
OSH professionals who are taking the opportunity to reach out and listen are gaining first-hand exposure to how AI is being applied across sectors, including utilities, transportation and infrastructure, manufacturing, facilities services and logistics.
AI technologies, including algorithms, NLP, imagery analysis and reasoning engines are now driving real-time safety insights that improve decision-making on the ground.
OSH PROFESSIONALS MUST DEVELOP DIGITAL LITERACY WITHOUT DELAY
AI is also enhancing safety across every phase of the project lifecycle, from design and construction through to operations and maintenance. Underpinning predictive risk solutions, data-led intelligence is transforming how frontline teams in highrisk environments identify and respond to emerging threats.
The growing role of remote risk visualisation, through the adoption of smart technologies, is helping organisations monitor dynamic worksites and generate actionable insights that enhance both productivity and quality.
Finally, integrating smart systems, using application programming interfaces (APIs)
is enabling structured data to be captured, resulting in the connection of fieldworkers and managers in real time, facilitating seamless communication between internal digital systems of record and externally important platforms of interest.
Gaining digital literacy
Importantly, none of this means that OSH professionals must become data scientists. But they do need to understand how these systems work, what their limitations are and how to apply them ethically. This includes knowing how to interpret AI outputs, understanding the privacy and human factors involved, and engaging in meaningful conversations with technical and operational teams.
Across the span of my long career in the OSH profession, it has become increasingly evident that true excellence in OSH extends far beyond the mechanistic pursuit of compliance through prescriptive checklists or procedural box-ticking. Rather, it lies in the strategic application of the most advanced, contextually relevant tools and methodologies available to safeguard human wellbeing and optimise performance in complex operational environments.
There has never been a more opportune moment for OSH professionals to fulfil this higher mandate, propelled by the transformative capabilities of AI-driven platforms that are reshaping the very architecture of risk management, operational resilience and organisational culture both now and into the future.
BREATHE EASY
Respiratory protective equipment is an essential feature of workplaces across different sectors, so what new developments and guidelines must OSH professionals keep track of?
WORDS
KATHY OXTOBY
Respiratory protective equipment (RPE) is used to protect workers from harmful contaminants in the air in the form of dust, mist, vapour, gas or fumes. It can also be used in areas where oxygen levels are or may become low, says Ian Kelsall, technical specialist RPE at Dräger Safety UK.
There are two broad categories of RPE. The first is air purifying respirators, sometimes known as filtering devices, which use filters to remove harmful contaminants from the ambient air. Ian says: ‘They can either rely on the wearer’s breathing to draw air through the filter, or they use powered respirators that use a blower unit to draw
in the air, pass it through a filter and then supply it to a headpiece.’
The second category is breathing apparatus. This requires a clean supply of air provided from an independent source, such as a cylinder or airline.
‘OSH professionals will need to understand whether air purifying respirators
are suitable, and for this certain conditions must be met,’ says Ian. There must be a minimum level of oxygen, and the area must not be poorly ventilated or a confined space. The type and concentration of contaminant must be known, and gas/vapour contaminants must have clear warning properties, such as a noticeable smell or taste, he says. For breathing apparatus, the OSH practitioner will need to ensure that the air source is clean and safe to breathe.
Saeed Ahmadi CertIOSH, OSH content developer at IOSH, adds that practitioners should be alert not only to the existing level of oxygen but to any changes that occur, because a drop from the typical 20.9% in atmospheric air could indicate a hazardous release which requires further control measures. So, although an atmosphere with 19.5% oxygen is considered breathable according to the OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard (OSHA, 2006), it’s important to identify which gas has reduced the proportion of oxygen by its presence. This should be covered by gas testing as part of a Control of Substances Hazardous to Health assessment.
RPE can be used in a variety of industries and occupations, but typically is used in the oil and gas, mining, petrochemical, construction and pharmaceuticals industries and in the healthcare sector. It is also used during high-risk activities such as firefighting services, and asbestos removal, says Saeed.
The types of RPE used globally are ‘similar in design and functionality’, says Tracey Winspear, RPE application engineer at 3M Personal Safety Division UK&I. Each country or region may have its own regulatory framework for respiratory protection, including the standards for protection factors.
Hierarchy of risk control
Not only workers, but ‘all the individuals involved in the selection, use, storage and decontamination of RPEs require training’, says Saeed. He says training should cover why RPE is needed and being provided, what type is being provided, how it works and why fit testing is required.
Any RPE training will also depend on the task, points out Stuart Grice, executive council member for construction at Unite the Union, and a bricklayer by trade. ‘We could do with more awareness training in general about the dangers of breathing in dust,’ he says.
Saeed says that to select proper RPE to protect the wearer, OSH professionals will need a basic understanding of the hazardous substance, the amount of it in the air and the form of the substance in the air. They will also need to know the type of work being carried out – for instance, cutting or heating materials may generate harmful substances (GB Health and Safety Executive, 2013).
Environmental and climatic factors –mainly temperature and humidity – are ‘real game-changers in RPE usability’, says Saeed.
WE NEED MORE TRAINING ABOUT THE DANGERS OF
BREATHING DUST
For instance, in South-east Asian countries, the hot and humid climate poses major challenges. ‘Workers are more prone to heat stress when wearing tight-fitting respirators. This can lead to non-compliance or unsafe modifications, such as loosening masks for airflow. In these regions, OSH professionals might prefer powered air-purifying respirators or other designs that reduce breathing resistance and heat build-up, though these come with higher costs.’
There are many different measures that can be implemented before – or in conjunction with – RPE in order to control exposure to harmful airborne substances. But some measures are preferable to others, as per the hierarchy of risk control. ‘This system prioritises the most effective control measures, [such as] eliminating hazards, over less effective measures like PPE,’ says Saeed.
In essence, the hierarchy of control provides organisations with a logical sequence of decision-making to effectively
reduce risks through risk elimination, risk substitution, engineering controls (such as isolation, containment or enclosure), administrative controls (such as rotating workers) and PPE (Occupational Hygiene Training Association, 2009). RPE, as one form of PPE, should be regarded as ‘the last resort for risk control, as measures that rely on human behaviour typically have lower effectiveness’, says Saeed.
Brett Edkins, head of health and safety at London Projects and an IOSH Construction Committee member, says controls to look at before RPE are ‘whether one can further or better adhere to the hierarchy of controls – this is and must remain the main driver. Exhaust this avenue – and once you believe you have, try and exhaust it some more.
‘In construction, for example, if we can’t fully eliminate the exposure, we can then rely on engineering controls such as “on-tool dust extraction”, which can be extremely effective, to such a degree that RPE may not even be needed.’
Sensitive issues
RPE can be a challenging area for the OSH practitioner ‘because it brings up a mix of personal rights, religious practices, employment law and the employer’s duty to ensure a safe working environment’, says Saeed. ‘Striking the right balance between respecting the individual and maintaining safety standards isn’t always straightforward.’
‘It is fair to say that RPE has traditionally been designed with a focus on a predominantly white male demographic, which does not accurately reflect the diversity of today’s workplaces,’ explains Dr Iván Williams Jiménez, senior policy and public affairs manager at IOSH. ‘This can hinder performance and negatively affect the user’s comfort and safety. Ill-fitting RPE has the potential to expose workers to communicable respiratory diseases and occupational hazards entering the respiratory system.
‘For that reason, it is important that, as far as reasonably practical, RPE can be tailored to the individual’s needs,
considering factors such as gender, ethnicity and preferences.’
Designing inclusive RPE entails considering the diverse shapes and sizes of faces and bodies, ensuring a good fit for everyone and addressing potential barriers, says Tracey. This can be achieved through innovative design approaches such as three-fold designs for flexibility and easy adjustments, as well as using flexible nose clips and soft nose pads for secure fit.
Employees who have religious reasons for wearing facial hair such as beards may need alternative RPE options that do not require a tight face seal, says Tracey. ‘Loose-fitting RPE, like powered respirators or breathing apparatus with hoods or helmets, can be used instead of tight-fitting face masks.’
New developments
With the fast pace of technological innovation and digitisation, RPE has evolved in recent years, says Saeed. ‘We’re now seeing the rise of next-generation “smart RPE” that brings a whole new set of features, especially in the area of physiological monitoring.
‘These advanced devices go beyond just filtering air – they can now monitor environmental conditions, assess air quality and even track the overall fit and comfort of the mask.’
He says one of the standout developments is the use of built-in sensors that check for proper air tightness and filter performance.
Key drivers for RPE innovation include increasing awareness of workplace safety and the importance of respiratory protection, changes in health and safety regulations, the impact of COVID-19 and rising industrialisation, says Tracey.
Ensuring compatibility with other PPE also requires consideration, she says. In many workplaces there is a requirement to wear more than one type of PPE, such as a hard hat, earmuffs, eyewear and a face mask.
‘Each individual item of PPE, when worn simultaneously, should not compromise the fit and performance of another,’ she adds.
Digitisation and Industry 4.0 will ‘continue to influence in the medium term as devices become more connected, and the
safety industry will need to keep up to ensure that solutions take advantage of connectivity to increase knowledge, awareness and productivity, and improve safety outcomes,’ says Ian.
‘We will have to adjust safety requirements and solutions to make them suitable for an increasingly diverse and ageing workforce,’ he adds.
In the future, Stuart predicts that face masks will become ‘more wearable’ and the importance of RPE will increase as ‘people
are starting to realise the dangers of what breathing in harmful dust can do’.
‘There will always be a need for RPE,’ concludes Saeed. ‘When we give wearers the benefits from innovation – in product design, in use and in training – this will ultimately lead to improved protection and, hopefully, we will start to see a reduction in the statistics on work-related ill health.’
For references, visit ioshmagazine.com/RPE
TOP TIPS
Key takeaways for OSH practitioners
Tracey Winspear, 3M: ‘All wearers are unique, so an individual’s tasks, environments and individual needs – such as age or health –should be taken into consideration. A respiratory protection programme, which encompasses all aspects of RPE use, including selection, training, maintenance and storage, is key to ensure eff ective protection.
‘Manufacturers can provide critical information about the proper use, maintenance and limitations of their products, ensuring that PPE is used eff ectively and safely. They can also off er advice on selecting the appropriate PPE for specifi c hazards and provide guidance on training needs.’
Ian Kesall, Dräger Safety UK: ‘When recommending any RPE programme it is worth considering how it is to be rolled out. Done eff ectively, the process can help to create a positive safety culture with engaged, compliant wearers, rather than a fi ght to adopt and non-compliance. Consider wearer engagement and involving
workers in the process, using change management techniques to introduce any new processes or products, and adopt early engagement and communication.’
Brett Edkins, London Projects: ‘Get to know your sector’s regulatory requirements well, and let your risk assessment guide you. If you are meeting regulation, keeping below the workplace exposure limit and making sure your workers are happy and engaged, then you are well on your way.’
Stuart Grice, Unite: ‘Make sure RPE fi ts and is comfortable for the wearer, and fi nd alternatives where and if possible.’
Saeed Ahmadi, IOSH: ‘Ensure that RPE is viewed as a last resort, considering the hierarchy of risk control. However, when provision and usage of RPE is necessary, OSH individuals must consider multiple factors in selecting the right RPE, rather than focusing on just one or two factors. Ultimately, RPE is only eff ective when selected, used and maintained correctly.’
ZOOKEEPERS
SAFE KEEPING
While zoos are fun for visitors, they present an unusual mix of challenges for keepers as they care for some of the world’s most dangerous animals. Here’s a look inside the enclosure.
WORDS CLAIRE MOULDS
You might expect the most common injuries suffered by zookeepers to be bites or scratches, with the added risk of zoonotic disease transmission.
But it’s far from the reality .
‘It’s a common misconception that animal-related injuries will score highly,’ says Richie Owen, head of health and safety at Chester Zoo. ‘The top three causes of injury every year are always handling and lifting, slips, trips and falls, and cuts from knives.
‘Being a zookeeper is a very physical job, with the teams moving animals around, opening and closing gates, removing waste and bedding, cleaning habitats and using all manner of tools and equipment. Knife injuries are always the result of food preparation.’
Global zoological consultant Douglas Richardson says: ‘The top issue, by a long way, is back injuries. In the UK it’s minimised, although still a significant issue, thanks to heavy lifting courses, but, around the world, musculoskeletal injuries are the biggest problem.’
However, risk of death from an animal attack is a reality for some keepers and a number of fatalities have occurred in recent years, both in the UK and abroad.
Where lies the risk?
‘In our industry, team members are heavily reliant on each other in terms of health and safety,’ says Douglas. ‘If you accidentally leave a door unlocked and you’re off work the next day, it’s your colleague that walks into that situation.
‘Equally, when I’m conducting training sessions, I always say to people they should never take offence if another team member wants to check something themselves. Taking a colleague’s word that an animal is locked in, when in fact it’s out in its enclosure, has led to keeper deaths.’
The need to constantly pay attention and not get distracted means fatigue can be fatal. Douglas says: ‘When I was called as an expert witness concerning a keeper who had been killed by a tiger [BBC News, 2019], it was clear to me that tiredness was the probable reason she’d mistakenly failed to see that a tiger den door had been left open. Not only was she working six days a week but she was also hand-rearing a young cat and had been up through the night.’
The close relationship between keepers and their animals can also be a
PPE AT Z OOS C AN G ET C REATIVE. AN I C E
H OC KEY HELMET WA S US ED A S PR O TE C TI O N AGAIN S T A DIVE -
B O MBIN G H O RNBIL L
risk factor because it creates a false sense of security. In September, a zookeeper was mauled to death by a lion at a wildlife park in Nigeria after taking guests to see it being fed and, feeling comfortable with the animal, leaving the safety protection gate open (BBC News, 2024).
Complacency is a big danger, says Douglas. ‘When I go into a zoo to consult I will always spot issues outside of the brief. Visitor safety barriers that aren’t up to the job are a key one, doors without viewing hatches, so you can’t see where the animal is before opening the door, and enclosures that aren’t secure enough for their occupant. I once inspected a tiger fence that was half the height it should be.’
He continues: ‘It’s not that these zoos are necessarily ignoring health
and safety; they’ve just accepted the protection in place as adequate, as they’ve “never had a problem”.’
But sometimes even strict safety protocols aren’t enough. In March this year, a zookeeper at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle sustained a serious injury to her hand when an orangutan bit it during a routine training session, despite a mesh barrier being in place to ensure ‘protected contact’. The zoo is investigating the incident and evaluating the protective barriers used in its enclosures (Wegner, 2025).
‘We’re constantly striving to make things safer,’ says Richie. ‘That might come from our own experience here at Chester or from sharing best practice with other zoos, as members of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums [BIAZA], but continual learning is key.’
The right equipment
‘It’s a mistaken belief that zookeepers need special equipment,’ says Richie. ‘If something has big teeth and claws we’re not going to hand a zookeeper some PPE and send them into an animal habitat! Our emphasis is very much hands off, not hands on.’
He says most PPE is the same as that used by workers in other industries facing the challenges of outdoor work: hot environments, dusty conditions and uneven ground.
‘There are exceptions,’ he adds. ‘When working with venomous animals our keepers will wear gaiters, venom defender gloves and face protection, as many of these can eject or spit venom and will direct it at your eyes.
‘Sometimes we have to get creative. Previously, one of our hornbills took to dive-bombing its keeper so we had to source them an ice hockey helmet because of its enormous beak.’
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Protecting visitors
According to the GB Health and Safety Executive (2025), over the past four years the top cause of non-fatal injuries to visitors at zoos (and botanical gardens and nature reserves; the data falls into the same category) has been slips, trips and falls on the same level, with 26 occurring in 2024/2025. Over the past year, only two were injured by animals.
‘We’re constantly looking at how visitors are interacting with facilities and infrastructure across the zoo, monitoring accidents, near misses and hazardous behaviours and taking action as necessary,’ says Richie.
‘If we open a new habitat or have an event, we always plan for what we “think” visitors will do but, until we actually see them interacting with the space, we can’t be 100% sure. Often we’ll find they stop to view the animals, or to take a photo, where we’ve not anticipated, causing bottlenecks and other potential issues.’
‘Zoos can only do so much,’ agrees Douglas. ‘You can’t 100% accurately predict visitor behaviour and, equally, you can’t completely negate the public’s capacity to make bad choices.
‘Safari parks are a classic example where people don’t close and lock their doors, windows and sunroof, or get out to get something from the boot or even, unbelievably, decide to set up a picnic in the middle of the lion reserve, despite all notices and instructions to the contrary.’
In April, a tourist climbed into a crocodile’s enclosure to pose for selfies at a zoo in the Philippines after mistaking its 15ft-long occupant for a statue. Having sunk its teeth into him, the crocodile attempted a death roll before its handler risked their own life to rescue him (Stanford, 2025).
In case of emergency
Zoos are now embracing a range of new technology in order to improve security, says Shanna Simpson, animal curator at Topeka Zoo in Kansas, US, and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) safety committee chair. ‘Motion sensors now alert staff if a guest has crossed a barrier into a deadly animal habitat, while the use of drones to help with security and animal welfare is also gaining momentum.’
Douglas says: ‘If an animal escapes, your primary responsibility as a
Zoo safety around the world
‘There’s a huge difference around the world in terms of how zookeepers are viewed, trained and protected,’ says Douglas Richardson. ‘In the West, the majority of keepers have a qualification and are respected for the work they do. In contrast, in Africa and Asia the job isn’t held in such esteem and is viewed as a lower-caste role. Staff are unlikely to have any qualifications and may not even be able to read or write, leaving them vulnerable to harm.’
He says many countries haven’t built up enough knowledge and experience. ‘Often, senior members of staff are routinely transferred out of zoos and into other areas, such as national parks, after only a few years so there’s nobody with in-depth expertise in a species who can accurately assess risk.
‘Interestingly, cultural and legislative differences between countries have more impact on a zoo’s safety and that of its staff than whether it’s a public or private zoo. The reality is that, if a wealthy family in India or China feeds an animal or tries to climb a fence or enters a restricted area and a lowly keeper intervenes, it is the keeper who may be punished. Meanwhile, many of these zoos aren’t even familiar with the legislation in their country and you often come across local mythology in terms of what you can and can’t do.’
But fatalities persist in the West too, although the reasons aren’t clear. ‘Death by tiger has increased in Western zoo culture despite zookeepers being better educated and better trained,’ Douglas says. ‘Is it because these individuals want more responsibility and more authority sooner, when they don’t have the extensive experience that’s also required? Or is it because keepers now have far less experience of working in enclosures where the animals are not segregated, so when they do accidentally come face to face in the same space, they don’t know how to handle the situation?’
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ELEPHANTS
A supersized risk
Historically, elephant-handling zookeepers have formed a close social bond with the animals. However, elephants’ sheer size and strength, combined with their potential to be startled, meant there was inherent risk in this approach.
‘Up until 10 years ago, elephants injured more keepers than any other animal,’ Shanna says.
‘Elephants were responsible for killing more keepers than big cats,’ Douglas confirms.
There were also concerns that close contact with their keepers prevented elephants from expressing their full range of natural behaviours (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), 2019).
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums in the US was the first to require all its accredited zoos to move to ‘protected contact’ for elephants in 2014. Protected contact means that keepers can no longer be in the same space as the elephants and instead work with them through a protective barrier. ‘Since the change came into place, keeper injuries have declined significantly,’ says Shanna.
Five years later, EAZA announced that protected contact management would be mandatory for all its member institutions from 1 January 2030 (EAZA, 2019).
zookeeper is the safety of the public, which will often mean putting yourself in harm’s way. We’re like the fire service – we run in while everyone else runs out.’
In the UK, zoos are legally obliged to carry out four escape drills a year and two of them have to be for a category 1 dangerous species.
‘We probably have the best zoo legislation in the world and it’s only when there’s a serious incident elsewhere –for example, one of the major zoos in continental Europe had a lion escape and it transpired they’d never done an escape drill – that you fully appreciate that,’ Douglas says.
‘We operate a gold, silver and bronze command management model in emergency situations,’ confirms Richie. ‘We have a designated control area where we can bring up maps to see where the incident is, which buildings are nearby and where the walkways and pathways are that need cordoning off. We’d then use
IN AN EMERGENCY, ZOOKEEPERS ARE LIKE FIREFIGHTERSRUNNING IN WHILE OTHERS RUN OUT
the radio, and if required the tannoy, to manage the situation. The team of bronze commanders under the duty manager would direct their marshalls accordingly.’
He says there is also an emergency response team able to deploy a vehicle with a range of equipment. ‘For example, we might use fire extinguishers, if something between two animals has got out of hand, or riot shields. Darting is also an option. In the absolute worst-case scenario, with an imminent risk to human safety, and as a last resort, a firearm may be deployed and we have trained people for that.’
Mental health awareness
‘Mental health has been a big focus these last few years after being acknowledged as a key industry issue,’ says Shanna. ‘Zookeepers have a very stressful and emotionally draining job – from keeping themselves safe around deadly animals, to providing the highest standard of care possible, to dealing with animal illness and death.’
She says the AZA Safety Summit earlier this year devoted an entire afternoon to mental health, and she welcomes the fact that more zoos are offering support services to their staff.
‘Compassion fatigue is something we need to be mindful of,’ agrees Richie. ‘It’s wonderful to work with people who are so driven, passionate and caring, but it can result in cumulative stress for the employee.’
‘We’ve worked hard to create a supportive, open and approachable culture that comes from the top down,’ he says.
‘Communication is crucial and something we focus heavily on with extensive line manager training and regular features emphasising the need to look after yourself and to look after each other. Staff members know where they can get help, that we’re always here to talk and we also have a staff association that they can reach out to too.
Shanna concludes: ‘Ultimately, by prioritising the mental as well as physical health, safety and wellbeing of their staff, our zoo members are ensuring that they’re able to deliver the very best care to the animals which, in turn, motivates visitors to continue to support animal conservation across the world.’
EVIDENCE
EXPLORE THE LATEST RESEARCH
TOPIC: Psychosocial risk management
TITLE: Improving work-related psychosocial risk management: a mixed methods evaluation of the factors influencing inspectors’ practice
PUBLISHED BY: Safety Science
SUMMARY: Despite the welldocumented relationship between exposure to workrelated psychosocial risks and negative employee mental health outcomes, recent analyses indicate that a significant proportion of workers are still exposed to psychosocial risks.
Psychosocial risk factors are those that may affect workers’ psychological response to their work and workplace conditions (including working relationships with supervisors and colleagues). Negative mental health outcomes can include psychological distress, emotional exhaustion and mental disorders. However, regulating these risks has proved challenging, and existing research shows there is a need to improve regulatory capabilities to tackle them.
This latest research aimed to provide insight into possible strategies for developing better regulatory capabilities by enhancing understanding of the individual and job-related factors that influence inspectors’ practice. Using semi-structured interviews and surveys in two studies, the researchers found
Research matters
developed, framed as both rules- and principles-based.
Recent papers examine how to manage psychosocial risks in the workplace and whether rules- or principles-based framing of practices is more effective for safety professionals.
there were five themes that influence an inspector’s capacity to engage with stakeholders (in study one), which were supported by their findings in study two.
In conclusion, the researchers said their findings advance understanding of the ways in which regulation could be improved related to psychosocial risk by identifying the factors that are important for a front-line inspector to carry out this type of work.
TITLE: Guided by principles or rules: a Delphi study on how safety professionals frame safety practices
PUBLISHED BY: Safety Science
SUMMARY: The way
practices are framed can profoundly impact actions in the workplace, shaping organisational outcomes and the way professionals communicate messages and provide guidance. It can impact what points are emphasised and how information is presented. However, individuals using and enforcing these practices may be unaware of this interplay and how it can shape and influence others. This study explored how safety professionals conceptualise safety practices to prevent and mitigate accidents.
Twenty-nine safety professionals took part in three online workshops and three rounds of surveys as part of a Delphi study. In total, 18 safety practices were
In a rules-based frame, standardisation, control and compliance are prioritised, with safety challenges interpreted as deviations from established norms. On the other hand, a principles-based frame offers a dynamic alternative. It emphasises flexibility and adaptability, particularly in complex systems.
While both types of frame were considered essential for achieving safety and important for preventing accidents in this study, principles-based practices were seen as more challenging to implement but ultimately more effective, especially in complex situations.
Overall, the researchers found that people’s understanding of the way safety practices were framed had significant implications for how safety standards were developed.
The researchers recommended that both rules- and principles-based approaches were necessary to manage safety in organisational systems, because rules need principles to prevent the exploitation of gaps.
We take a look at a recent paper to see how its findings can inform OSH.
TITLE
Work-related violence interventions in the disability sector: a systematic review and systems mapping exercise
PUBLICATION
Safety Science
BACKGROUND/AIMS
Violence against staff is common in the healthcare sector, as are staff training interventions aimed at reducing workrelated violence (WRV). However, limited research has explored the breadth of WRV interventions for staff working in the disability sector. This study aimed to systematically review WRV interventions for such staff using a systems thinking framework, PreventiMap, which is an adaption of Rasmussen’s risk management framework. The goal of the research was to identify opportunities for systemic change in the sector to support the safety of workers.
METHODS AND FINDINGS
Using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) approach, comprehensive search strategy and eligibility criteria were applied across five databases. After screening, a total of 22 intervention studies were included for systematic
review. Included studies were synthesised narratively and using the systems-thinking PreventiMap technique. The efficacy of interventions was variable, as was the methodological quality of included studies. Most intervention studies (n=20; 90.1 %) explored staff training, with very few (n=4; 18.2 %) exploring management or company level WRV interventions.
CONCLUSIONS
Overall, the review supported the existence of the research-practice gap in accident analysis and prevention by showing that existing WRV interventions in the disability sector focus on staff training and largely ignore interventions at other system levels.
The fair methodological quality of the included studies prevented conclusive findings being drawn regarding the effectiveness of existing WRV interventions.
Future research should endeavour to develop system-wide WRV interventions and rigorously evaluate them.
RESEARCHER’S TAKEAWAY
‘This research was funded by WorkSafe Victoria, which was interested in exploring effective interventions for work-related violence after noticing high rates of injury and workers’ compensation claims in the disability sector.
‘Systems-thinking models argue that safety is best managed when responsibility for safety is actioned by all stakeholders from across the residential disability system.
‘Despite this, the systematic review found that most WRV interventions for the disability sector focused on reductionist approaches including staff training and tended to be ineffective in reducing workrelated violence in the long term; thus, the onus of responsibility is primarily on frontline staff.
‘To improve the safety of workers in this sector, it is recommended that responsibility for safety be shared across all levels of the residential disability system including government (for example, additional funding), regulators (for example, minimum staff entry requirements), industry bodies and management.’
Olivia Miller, lead author
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE – IOSH’S TAKE
While concentrating on the disability sector, this study has broader application. The researchers found that, while training to reduce the risk of workplace violence was common, evidence of its impact was inconclusive. There was also limited evidence of any more holistic attempts to reduce this risk.
The goal of the research was to identify opportunities to support systemic change in the sector to support the safety of workers – an exercise that could be undertaken in any environment. Recommendations included management-level interventions that cater to OSH controls, such as enhanced risk assessments, the use of decision aides, leadership input and review meetings.
Psychiatric injury
Duncan Spencer CFIOSH, head of advice and practice at IOSH, takes a practitioner’s view of landmark civil law cases that can inform our approach.
Readers may be aware of Walker v Northumberland County Council (1995), which found that a first psychiatric injury due to work-related stress may not be reasonably foreseeable but that, if nothing is done to rectify the working conditions when the employee returns to work, a second injury is. Implementing return-to-work plans are thus imperative for effective rehabilitation and recovery.
Seven years later, Sutherland v Hatton (2002) set out 16 principles for judging stress cases. These have further implications for the design of mental health management systems.
If an employee suffers stress at work, it does not mean an employer has automatically breached their duty of care and is negligent. If the workload is normal for the role and is comparable to that of other employees, the employer is entitled to assume that a worker can manage the pressures of the job – that is, unless the employer knows of a specific individual vulnerability or if the worker presents obvious signs of stress. It therefore remains important to have competent managers who can spot signs of stress and a stigma-free system that supports incident reporting and addresses individual mental health needs.
The employer is entitled to accept what they are told by an employee at face value. They are not obliged to make searching
IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE COMPETENT MANAGERS WHO CAN SPOT STRESS
enquiries or seek permission for a medical assessment. Once informed that there is a problem, employers are obliged to take steps to mitigate the risk, bearing in mind risk level, degree of harm, the practicality of preventing it and any justification for taking the risk.
Moreover, if the only reasonable and effective step is to dismiss or demote the employee, the employer will not be in breach of duty to allow the employee to continue in their role. The caveat must
be that any reasonable adjustments are taken. In this regard, an employer is only expected to take steps that do some good, but may need expert help to define what these are – for example, taking advice through an occupational health referral report. The Sutherland v Hatton ruling stated that ‘an employer who offers a confidential occupational health advice service, with referral to counselling services, is unlikely to be found in breach of their duty of care’.
As a final point, in Pratley v Surrey County Council(2003), Maureen Pratley agreed with her managers a system for handling her workload. When she returned to work after a holiday, this had not been implemented. She claimed that the shock of this led to psychiatric illness. It was dismissed because while there was a foreseeable risk of injury in the long term, imminent injury was not thought foreseeable. In Young v Post Office (2002), this point was further supported by the finding that if the employer devises a plan to safeguard the employee, they must take care to introduce it effectively.
Our conclusion must be that litigation cases on stress undeniably inform our approach to its management in the workplace.
For more civil law milestones, visit ioshmagazine.com/ civil-law-milestones
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