Liverpool fails to protect council workers’ health

Workers at Liverpool City Council are not getting the legally required level of occupational health support, according to inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

After the local authority was issued with an improvement notice requiring it to improve occupational health services for its 19,000 staff or face legal action, an HSE spokesperson told the Liverpool Daily Post: “The belief was that the council reacted to illnesses well once they occurred but was not proactive in preventing them.”

Inspectors found that the council was failing to carry out preventive procedures such as screening workers or regularly checking their health. Apart from hearing tests, the council’s occupational health provider offered services only after workers became ill.

Similar problems were found in Dundee council last year, and safety reps report that other councils are equally remiss.