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Attention: Health and safety media

Employers must learn the lessons of workplace accidents, says TUC

Employers should be compelled to investigate all significant workplace accidents, including road traffic accidents and bullying, the TUC said today (28 July).

In its response to the Health and Safety Commission’s consultative document on the issue, the TUC calls for the proposed legal duty to investigate to include:

• an absolute duty to investigate incidents covered by the existing Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR);

• a duty to investigate road traffic accidents involving their employees while at work, and all incidents of workplace violence including bullying; and

• a discretionary duty to investigate near misses where these have the potential, if they happened again, to cause serious or widespread injury or illness.

TUC General Secretary John Monks said: 'The law needs to be flexible, but it must make sure lessons are learnt and tragedies aren’t repeated. The law mustn’t be a bureaucratic paperchase, or an exercise in shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. RIDDOR provides an objective benchmark that Inspectors can use to identify whether investigations are being used properly, but sometimes employers should go beyond that to prevent history repeating itself with tragic consequences.'

The TUC’s full response will be contained in issue 12 of Risks, the TUC’s online bulletin for safety reps and others, which will be published on Saturday, 28 July at www.tuc.org.uk/risks/ (where all issues of Risks are stored).

Notes to Editors:

All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

Contacts:

Media enquiries: Stephanie Power on 020 7467 1310 or 07699 744115 (pager) or email spower@tuc.org.uk

Other enquiries: Owen Tudor on 020 7467 1325 or 07788 715261 (mobile) or email otudor@tuc.org.uk

Press release (300 words) issued 28 Jul 2001