SE - Health and Safety Law wont apply to you.

ohreally

from 1 October 2015, if you are self-employed and your work activity poses no potential risk to the health and safety of other workers or members of the public, then health and safety law will not apply to you

http://www.hse.gov.uk/self-employed/index.htm

maninthestreet

Is any form of work totally risk-free?

DandelionPatrol

ohreally wrote: »

Imagination is a mental faculty that serves as a coping mechanism for those who can't or won't accept reality - unicorns and dragons and wives who don't nag, are all figments of the "imagination".

I'm only here to argue with your tagline

Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere. Albert Einstein

To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. Thomas A. Edison

The man who has no imagination has no wings. Muhammad Ali

You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. Mark Twain

dickydonkin

ohreally wrote: »

http://www.hse.gov.uk/self-employed/index.htm

Intended to remove the burden of health and safety or 'red tape' as our government call it from businesses.

This is going to be misinterpreted by many - placing people at risk. Just wait until the first prosecution of a self employed person who will state in their defence that health and safety law did not apply to him.

If the so called red tape has made our country one of the safest places in the world for workers, you have to question what value this government places on people who should be able to go to work and return safely to their families.............although I suspect many will know the answer to that!

cavework

Well.. as a business who is required to have H&S through Acclaim I would not be using you as a sub contractor.

ohreally

cavework wrote: »

I would not be using you as a sub contractor.

Why would you think I was a contractor involved in h&s in any shape or form?

dickydonkin

cavework wrote: »

Well.. as a business who is required to have H&S through Acclaim I would not be using you as a sub contractor.

And a business having 'accreditation' from the likes of such organisations generally only vet paperwork such as written policies and procedures, risk assessments, method statements etc etc........paperwork and a badge stuck on a van does not stop people getting injured and killed at work.

A good safety professional on the ground is more effective than filling in an on line questionnaire or sending documents to be vetted miles away from where any work is carried out.

Many (not all) companies obtain accreditation not because they want it or really care for their workforce as it can be costly........but is usually a prerequisite for winning or retaining contracts.

Or is this just me being cynical?

cavework

Many (not all) companies obtain accreditation not because they want it or really care for their workforce as it can be costly........but is usually a prerequisite for winning or retaining contracts.

Or is this just me being cynical?
No not cynical.. usually happens because a long term customer decides this is how they wish to proceed..
comply or lose the contract
The long term result is that any sub contractors including 1 man bands ,to the sub contractor applying for accreditation (hope this makes sense) also have to provide full H&S to enable the application to be accepted.
I should have worded my reply as
' as a subcontractor who may wish to work for our company I could not use you'

dickydonkin

cavework wrote: »

The long term result is that any sub contractors including 1 man bands ,to the sub contractor applying for accreditation (hope this makes sense) also have to provide full H&S to enable the application to be accepted.

'Providing full H&S' is generally documentation vetted by someone nowhere near where the work takes place - or indeed by someone who may have no specific health and safety experience within an industrial sector.

I also ask for method statements and risk assessments, training certificates etc etc and from experience, they are frequently in order and have been professionally compiled.

The problem however is that you need someone on site who will monitor the work, check individuals training credentials and ensure that work is carried out as stipulated in method statements/safe systems of work.

Unfortunately, on numerous occasions I find that what is promised on the paperwork is nowhere near correctly applied in the workplace.

As I alluded to earlier, paperwork alone does not prevent accidents!