The safety of the public and employees is being put at risk, because cowboy employers feel free to get away with flouting health and safety laws across the UK. This is the key finding from a new report* from UNISON which found that your postcode determines the level of health and safety enforcement undertaken by local authorities.
The analysis for the report was undertaken by the Centre for Corporate accountability (CCA) , who looked in detail at local authorities who are responsible for enforcing the law in more premises than the Health and Safety Executive. They are responsible for offices, retail and wholesale shops, warehouses, fuel and storage depots, residential care homes and premises involved in catering, leisure, cultural or consumer and other services. This is a massive responsibility and yet the report shows appalling levels of inconsistency, with the best authorities inspecting every single one of their premises at least once a year, to the worst with no inspections.
Hugh Robertson, UNISON