Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, employers have had to face huge challenges and one that has been magnified is managing risk in the workplace. With some staff working from home, and others in key worker roles still in the workplace, employers have had to manage health and safety risks both on and off site, as well as ensuring their clients, suppliers, and wider community are protected.

Some jobs just can’t be done remotely and require workers to physically be at their place of work such as construction, manufacturing, transport, agriculture and retail sectors. Therefore, some industries have been more affected than others and employers have had to make many changes to their usual processes and procedures, often at short notice.

The HSE Health and Safety at Work summary statistics for Great Britain 2020 showed that 0.7 million workers sustained a non-fatal injury in the 19/20 year, 65,427 non-fatal injuries were reported by employers, and there were 111 fatal injuries. The estimated annual costs of workplace injury amounts to £5.6 billion and this doesn’t even include work-related ill health such as work-related musculoskeletal disorders, occupational lung disease or work-related stress, depression or anxiety cases.

The number of deaths is statistically significantly lower suggesting that COVID-19 has had some impact on reducing numbers, however construction is one of the few industry sectors which saw an increase in the number of fatal injuries to workers in 19/20 with 40 deaths recorded.

Of the 111 fatal injuries, the main kinds of accidents were falls from a height, struck by a moving vehicle, struck by a moving object and being trapped by something collapsing/ overturning.

HSE’s chief executive, Sarah Albon, said:

“No one should be hurt or killed by the work they do. In these extraordinary times, we have seen many workers risking their lives to help others during the coronavirus outbreak. Although these statistics are not a reflection on Covid-19 related loss of life, it is a pertinent time to reflect.

“Every workplace fatality is a tragedy and while we are encouraged by this improvement, today’s statistics is a reminder that we cannot become complacent as we look to continue to work together to make Great Britain an even safer place to live and work.”

As the UK roadmap out of lockdown now looks certain, more workers will be returning to work onsite. Protect your people with ISO 45001.

ISO 45001: 2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems

Every business owner has a social and legal responsibility to its employees to ensure their work environment is safe. This standard provides organisations, large or small, with robust OHS policies and procedures to identify potential hazards. It also ensures it is meeting legal requirements to keep employees, and any visitors to its premises free from injury.

The benefits of gaining ISO 45001 certification are far reaching and can result in long-term business efficiencies such as:

  • Reducing and preventing accidents
  • Enhance your business reputation
  • Compliance to industry legislation
  • Improved hazard awareness
  • Lower insurance policies
  • Focusing the involvement of top management’s commitment to improve workplace conditions
  • Reduce time and costs related to accidents or ill health
  • Successful monitoring and measurement of on-site and offsite processes

ISO 45001 draws on OHSAS 18001, so if you are already certified to OHSAS the migration process should be straightforward and you can migrate at any time until 12th September 2021. From this date however, OHSAS 18001: 2007 will be considered ‘Withdrawn’. We understand that each organisation has a bespoke set of requirements, therefore you will be assigned a specialist auditor in your field that can help guide you through.

We have a dedicated team that can help advise you on your next steps towards attaining certification. Please get in touch with us here