UK Health And Safety Changes After Brexit
After years of uncertainty, the UK has now officially left the EU. The UK is in unfamiliar territory which may feel unnerving, especially when we don’t seem to have much information from the government in terms of what to expect. Many have questioned if there will be alterations made to Health and Safety laws and what this will mean for businesses across the UK. Read on to ease some of your worries around the subject.
Interim period
While we wait for the UK to agree trade deals with the EU, we are in an interim, or transition, period. We have been advised that this will end on 31st December 2020. During the transition period, the government has stated that health and safety regulations will remain the same. In order to comply with the law, you must ensure you are managing all risks within your company to an appropriate standard. This includes: having a health and safety procedure, completing risk assessments, providing training and protective gear, appointing a health and safety representative reporting accidents and injuries and much more.
You can find more information on the HSE government website about the basics of what your business should uphold in order to guarantee you are meeting health and safety legislation
What’s likely to happen when we agree a deal?
Leaving the EU means that the UK will need to regulate their own laws to monitor health and safety at work.
The leading piece of legislation in the UK is the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act of 1974, which outlines the duty employers have over their employees and visitors wellbeing. The Act originated in the UK and so it seems unlikely we would deviate from it once we part with the EU. This key piece of legislation is comprehensive and has set a benchmark for our neighbouring countries to follow. Legislation derived from the EU seems more likely to be amended to suit the needs of the UK. This generally affects the construction industry over any other.
There are some pieces of legislation that the UK government have already tried to oppose, so if there are any amendments made to laws following a trade deal, then these are likely to be the first ones that are targeted. An example is the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. Despite this, because the UK’s current health and safety regulations have already been endorsed for some time, and appear to be working well preventing more serious accidents from occurring, it is unlikely there will be a mass amount of change. Like the old saying goes, why try and fix something that isn’t broken?
What about anti-slip floor testing?
As discussed, it would appear that any trade deal agreed would have little impact on our Health and Safety laws in the UK.
One thing everyone can be sure of, once a deal has been agreed, is that health and safety at work will remain a critical issue in terms of running a business. This includes regularly assessing the anti-slip properties of a company's flooring.
A business will still be expected to ensure they have procedures in place to protect any workers or visitors from risk and harm. To minimise slips and falls you should ensure all flooring is regularly assessed by a professional to ensure anti slip properties are at their best standard
Here at National Testing, we can reassure our customers that we are always up to scratch with any amendments to health and safety law to guarantee the companies that trust to use our service are also operating at the best standards. We are UKAS accredited meaning we offer only the best in terms of both carrying out slip testing and producing in depth slip testing reports. If you are concerned about any floor safety changes due to Brexit call our team today.