Safety Reps Rights: No. 6: More rights required

The Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations came into force nearly 30 years ago, in October 1978. In this final column, Workplace Report highlights the rights still to be won.

There are a number of weaknesses and omissions in the original regulations; others have emerged as the law — particularly European law – has evolved.

Unions want a duty on employers to consult safety reps on risk assessments and to respond to representations made by reps, which will help ensure employers comply with their own duties and will give safety reps more leverage to bring about improvements swiftly.

They want “roving representatives” – with the power to gain entry into any workplace – to cover small workplaces or those in industries with poor safety rep coverage, such as agriculture and construction.

Unions also want reps to have the power to serve provisional improvement notices (PINs) on their employers. PINs notify employers of an alleged breach of health and safety law, the action needed and a timescale for dealing with it. If an employer does not comply, either party can call in the enforcement authorities to confirm, cancel or change the notice.