I thought I would run myth number one past you.

The reality is, we live in a 24 hour media fuelled society, which has an insatiable thirst for anything newsworthy, and us, Joe public are willing receivers that egg them on for more.

Health & Safety and political correctness are 2 of the easiest targets, with someones ridicolous interpretation blown out of all proportion, it's easy air play and gets us all moaning about it down the pub and a new urban myth is born.

The reality is, as much as I despair with some of the genuine nonsense, I believe most of it is down to interpretation. Factory machines that must have safety guards, or household appliances that must meet strict safety standards can only be a good thing, as are childrens nurseries that have trained first aiders and fire evacuation procedures, all good and positive aspects of H&S.

What I don't need, is some fly by night self badged expert scare mongering me into paying out consultancy fee's on unneeded and un-nesscary certification for my office kettle, and unfortunately, as with all trades, these cowboys are the ones that cold call and bombard us with emails

Steve

You have raised some excellent points. One of the great problems with health & safety law is it is by its very nature very descriptive, or at least a large chunk is and through interpretation one gives a guiding light to a client. Ask to qualified practitioners the same question though and you will likely receive two differing answers. Again it is the interpretation thing.

Brussels in their wisdom fought long and hard a while back for UK based H&S to drop the;

'So far as is reasonably practicable." They wanted to see more 'absolutes,' thanks goodness for now it stays so that the law courts can decide if 'what was done was enough, or reasonable, or sufficient.'

Yes indeed, I hear it far too often that XYZ consultants wish to take your money to advise you about the CM Act. This Act carries no fear to companies already showing a commitment to workplace H&S. End of.

I heard of a tale recently where ea consultant had advised his client that he could face a severe custodial sentence if prosecuted under said corporate manslaughter act. err, catch up Mr Consultant muppet, it is in the title so a bit of a give-away there. he might have mentioned the HSWA which would have been relevant, but why use scare tactics? Far better to take a positive and proactive approach, get it all done and dusted and carry on running the business.

There is so much confusion in the business market place regarding H&S, indeed, it is a vast area and can be considered complex at times, far better to get the roots of commitment right in the first place than have me advising te board what this fatality means to them and just how much it is likely to cost them.

"Rubbish!" States the MD, it is what we have insurance for.

When I go on to explain this is restricted to the civil side and not the criminal side I see initially confused faces. if you could insure against a custodial sentence everyone would be doing it! In addition a recent client faced ruin, (no I didn't initially look after him, i was requested to advise on the probable outcome). When I pointed out no-one had ever read the t's n c'c that the underwriters had stated in one insurance policy it turned out the insurers refused to pay out or cover the civil liabilities because they had not followed the requirements of said policy!

There was nothing they could do but sit and wait ruin. I worked with one of the county's top H&S lawyers trying to pull every string for them. Sadly it was all to no avail. They closed the business shortly after, (I never got paid) and the MD and two other senior people classed as 'directing minds,' were hit with massive claims. Last I heard the criminal application was still going ahead but to what value it would be in terms of; 'public interest' I'm not certain. They may receive a

Do you have a high level checklist that an average small business office or home office should look at, or maybe a guide, if A, B or C apply, then you need to call me type of thing?

Would be useful to small businesses and start ups? Or could at least be a step in the right direction rather than keep your head down and hope for the best? Could make it a useful sticky topic maybe?

Can see a H&S forum appearing in its own right at this rate!

You know Steve, in the majority of cases it is no-where near the degree of complexity many consultants and general scare-mongers would have you believe. I'm generalising but specifically making reference to an average 'lo-risk' industry such as clerical or generally office based (although there are still considerations).

In the case of a small or medium sized business there are areas to consider. Firstly registration (starting right at the beginning here). Since 6 April 2009, registration requirements were abolished meaning that businesses are no longer required to register with their local authority or with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE). This includes businesses that were previously required to register, such as shops, offices, factories and certain railway premises.

Of course there are still some exceptions such as; food and catering, these businesses must continue to meet food standards registration requirements, which local authorities enforce.

Other examples of businesses that may still be required to register or require a licence to operate - include those operating in high-risk industries and any that use dangerous or explosive materials in the course of any working activities. Firework production is one such example.

So, moving on then. Does the business employ more than four persons including any directors and other paid staff? Well if this is the case you move into a different category and yes some basic commitment becomes necessary.

In no particular order;

Employer liability insurance. In place for any employees not just more than four. Displayed in the office or by intranet.

Create a written health & Safety statement of intent with an orgaisation and arrangements section. Signed by the most senior person and copies provided to staff. A handbook is ideal for this. Ref; HSWA 1974 sect 2 sub section 3.

Identify all the hazards that staff will encounter at work or during their work activities. This then is what is known as 'risk-assessment.' This does not mean you should find every hazard and RA it, quite the reverse really. Example 1: You have a trailing lead from the back wall, running through the office area and across the public one as well. So this is a hazard and carries a risk (note the difference between 'H & R.') One should then consider a hierarchal approach. How best to deal with this lead? OK then loads of warning signs? Cover it with a fit for purpose sheathing? paint it bright yellow and black? No, actually none of these.

Forget all about consequence v likelihood, and should it be a qualitative or quantitative assessment of the risk, documenting the control measures, making certain everyone is aware of the potential risk. Ignore all of this and sit back to engage grey matter. Come out of the zone and think. far better if we can eliminate the hazard and any RA.

By spending a small amount of time that cable could either be run round the walls at ground level, or perhaps it has always been done like that and you have had extra sockets fitted. Maybe

Myths and misconceptions about online safety are roadblocks parents and educators must overcome so as to fully understand the risks facing children on the Internet. It is easy to assume that a child knows better than to talk to a