Your questions answered - February 25

Q: Although I believe my company is switched-on to the dangers of working in extreme heat, how do we ensure we are also protected against other extreme weather events such as cold and even flooding? 

You are right to raise these issues, as the obvious consequences of climate change are already affecting businesses around the world - and will continue to hit company’s bottom lines and disrupt supply chains for decades to come. Employers should, however, also take in to account potential impact on workers’ health and wellbeing as they may struggle to cope with changes in the workplace but also more broadly in their everyday circumstances. Residential flooding, or effects on public transport will all potentially add to physical and mental health levels.

The HSE has useful information about regulations around working in the obvious extreme weather circumstances, such as maximum and minimum temperature levels, but it really is worth conversations between employer and employees to identify additional hidden stress points and include them in future risk registers.

Q: I am a female employer of a majority female workforce and saw that the proportion of women getting ill because of work has increased.  How can we protect women at work?

The recent report from British Occupational Hygiene Society makes for sobering reading. Amongst many other significant factors, it points out that “Long-term sickness average rates have reached almost 35% for women, overtaking men for the first time, with a staggering 1.5 million women off work for ill-health”.

It is clearly not a simple single issue that needs addressing, rather a set of societal changes accompanied by more micro changes at organisational level. 

In health and safety roles, for example, currently, approximately 21 per cent of health and safety professionals are women, which means the profession is not representative of the workplace. 

Making female employees more comfortable in reporting health concerns – whether menopause-related or musculoskeletal disorders and mental health issues – is a first step that all employers can undertake easily. It’s likely to take time but equity in the workplace – and society more broadly – must be a central aim. 

Q: I read recently about a company being fined for failing to protect their workers from silica dust. We’re a small kitchen-fitting firm, can you clarify what the regulations are for working with various stones? 

Silica dust – like other fine dusts – is hazardous and therefore covered by Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) regulations.

COSHH is a set of regulations put in place to protect workers from ill health when working with specific substances and materials.

Breach of COSHH regulations by an employer or employee is a crime, punishable by an unlimited fine.

Steps to minimise the risk of exposure include using prefabricated worktops that do not need to be processed on-site, using water suppression and dust collectors, and providing workers with adequate respiratory protection equipment, such as FFP3 face masks, or full-head RPE. It is important to ensure that if face masks are used then face-fitting is undertaken when masks are considered for use, especially for men with facial hair.

Workplaces must provide information/training and equipment to mitigate risk and injury, and employees must ensure they follow protocols. This often includes formal training - including the British Safety Council’s COSHH training course. 

By following COSHH Regulations, companies can save money and be more effective by reducing absenteeism and not having to replace trained workers. A healthy workforce means a healthy bottom line.

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