Concern over HSE Guidance

The approach taken by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) towards revising guidance aimed at larger organisations and businesses has alarmed the TUC and the country’s largest union.

The safety watchdog describes its Managing for health and safety as “completely refreshed and enhanced”. However, the guidance, which the HSE says will make it easier for larger organisations and businesses to understand how to manage health and safety, has not simply been rewritten, but converted from a widely-used free leaflet to an online-only webpage.

While the TUC said it welcomed the new version, head of health and safety Hugh Robertson was concerned that the whole document is not available even in an electronic form. He said it was a mistake to restrict the availability of the guidance in this way.

He added: “To get the whole picture of a safety management system you need to go through the whole document — not just dip in to the bits you think might be relevant. That is why unions want, at the very least, a link to a pdf of the whole thing that can be printed off for use within organisations.”

Bud Hudspith, the national health and safety advisor for the Unite general union, described the move as “an absolute disaster”.

“Who do the HSE think will access and use this information?” he queried. “Who makes these decisions? They do not appear to be living in the real world.”

Guidance is at: www.hse.gov.uk/managing