TUC warns over new international standard


TUC head of health and safety Hugh Robertson is warning that gaining accreditation to a new international health and safety standard will not, in itself, signal compliance with UK health and safety law and “could, indirectly, lead to reduced levels of protection and greater bureaucracy”. 


The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is due to publish the new certifiable standard, ISO 45001, Occupational health and safety management systems, in March.


The ISO says the new standard will help organisations “provide a safe and healthy workplace for its workers and other people, prevent deaths, work-related injury and ill health as well as continually improve occupational health and safety (OH&S) performance”. 


In the UK, the new standard will replace the non-certifiable British standard OHSAS 18001.


But Robertson says the private standard’s approach is likely to lead to a move away from an emphasis on prevention based on risk management developed through union consultation, towards a more bureaucratic, process-driven approach aimed at achieving and maintaining accreditation. 


“Having a health and safety management system like ISO 45001 will not necessarily make your workplace safer, although it will mean a lot more paperwork,” said Robertson. “What makes a workplace safer is removing hazards, controlling risks and ensuring good worker involvement.”


https://www.tuc.org.uk/news/tuc-risks-836-10-february-2018#_Toc505849929

https://www.iso.org/iso-45001-occupational-health-and-safety.html