Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

The Committee notes the Government’s comprehensive first report including the legislative texts attached. The Committee also notes the comments of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), submitted on 31 August 2010, and the Government’s response thereto of 15 October 2010.

Article 4(2)(c) of the Convention. Mechanisms for ensuring compliance with national laws and regulations, including systems of inspections. The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report that section 19 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA) provides the criteria for the appointment of inspectors, while sections 20–25 set out the inspectors’ powers; that as of 1 April 2009 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has 1,323 full-time inspectors; and that, according to the HSE Enforcement Policy Statement, enforcement law is based on the principle of proportionality: “Those whom the law protects and those on whom it places duties expect that action taken by enforcing authorities to achieve compliance or bring dutyholders to account for non-compliance should be proportionate to any risks to health and safety, or to seriousness of any breach, which includes any actual or potential harm arising from a breach of law.” The Committee also notes that, according to the TUC comments, the level of inspections carried out in the country is both low and inconsistent, that in the ten-year period from 1999 to 2009, the number of recorded inspections decreased 69.5 per cent, and that, based on the number of premises covered by the Field Operations Divisions (FOD), the average premises could expect a visit by an HSE inspector every 38 years. The Committee notes that, in its response, the Government indicates that it has not set targets for the number of inspections to be undertaken, and has neither maintained nor created system routines so as to record them, and that the Government considers that the number of inspections carried out by the FOD should be evaluated in the context of the preventive activities the FOD actively carries out including the safety and health awareness days and the introduction of new supply-chain initiatives. The Government also indicates that the figures quoted by the TUC do not take into account the fact that the rapid turnover of small businesses distorts the figures. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the functioning of, and efforts to maintain, progressively develop and periodically review its labour inspection system.

Article 4(3)(d). Occupational health services in accordance with national law and practice. The Committee notes that the Government reports that the main occupational health services (OHS) responsibilities lay with the dutyholder, and that any worker who suffers an illness due to their occupation is eligible for treatment by the National Health Service (NHS); that by virtue of Regulations 6 and 7 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the employer is under a duty to provide OHS in accordance with national law and practice; and that it launched, in January 2010, a pilot programme for a voluntary UK accreditation scheme for OHS based on standards developed by the Faculty of Occupational Medicine (FOM), and that this scheme will become operational in 2011. The Committee also notes that, according to the TUC, there is no national occupational health provision in the United Kingdom and that, as few employers have access to private providers, a vast majority of workers have no coverage. The Committee further notes that, in its response, the Government emphasizes the regulated employers’ duties in this respect where particular risks are thought to occur and where medical surveillance might be necessary. The Government also refers to the introduction, in 2001, of the “NHS Plus” project offering a range of OHS for large and small employers. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on efforts to maintain, progressively develop and periodically review its occupational health service system, and on the experiences gained in relation to the OHS voluntary UK accreditation scheme and the 2001 “NHS Plus” project.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.