Who are you going to call?

Earlier this month I received a phone call from the father of an industrial worker. His son was a welder who had already suffered an arc eye injury after working long hours without appropriate eye protection. The son’s employer would not provide better equipment and was threatening to sack him due to the time off work he had taken to recover. I gave the father advice and my contact details for further assistance, but what surprised me most was that he was not able to get any help. He did not know who to call. He had tried his local authority who had refered him to the HSE website where he could not find a help line number. He then found Arinite through an internet search. Closure of HSE Info Line In 2011 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Infoline service was closed. It had been running successfully since 1996. At the time of the closure it was receiving more than 250,000 calls and 30,000 written enquiries each year. At the time the HSE said: “People will not be able to ring up for information. If they do, they will be referred to the HSE website or asked to call another helpline or consultancy number. The HSE will not answer enquiries by phone, letter, fax or e-mail; enquirers will be told to look at the website.” Whether the closure of the help line was due to efficiencies, cost-savings or cuts, the fact is that employers and employees no longer have access to such a service. Competent Advice This case raises a serious question about who employers and members of the public can turn to when they need competent health and safety advice. It could be argued that, with the recent reduction in routine health and Safety inspections by the H&S Authorities (see my June Blog), the removal of the strict criminal liability of employers in injury compensation cases and the recent changes in RIDDOR, now is the time where competent health and safety advice is even more relevant. So, if you are wondering “who you are going to call” if you need competent and professional advice, call Arinite. [contact_us] If you need to call upon our expertise in Health and Safety Consulting, or just for informal Health and Safety advice, please call the office on 0207 947 9581 Arinite Ltd, Warnford Court, 29 Throgmorton Street, London EC2N 2AT