Health and safety disproportionate? Not really!

The study by consultants Greenstreet Berman looked at one hundred media reports of "disproportionate" health and safety decision-making, and whether these were a true reflection of the situation in UK workplaces.

Using a range of examples of "excessive" decisions and restrictions, the researchers found that vast majority of workplaces did not "ban" activities or impose over-the-top sanctions, but instead applied "reasonable requirements" to control health and safety.

Most of the media stories came from the education sector, or from activities regulated or run by local authorities. Typically they involved members of the public being stopped from carrying out "every day" activities such as playing conkers or using bouncy castles, or excessive decisions such as cutting down trees to avoid the risk of fallen fruit causing slips!

While such stories did not reflect the approach to health and safety taken by most UK businesses and other organisations - including most local authorities - it was clear they were having an influence on people's perceptions of health and safety, according to the research report.

It revealed that three times as many people believed Britain had a problem with "disproportionate health and safety" than those who thought their own place of work had a problem.

Better informed

At the same time, the research did uncover a "significant minority" of workplaces making disproportionate health and safety decisions.

The report concluded that in some cases, clarity on what was meant by "sensible safety" was needed, and that this should be targeted at people with "relatively little health and safety experience".

Norwich Union Risk Services' training and consultancy manager John Phillips, commented: "It's good to hear that in most instances a balanced and proportionate approach to health and safety is actually being taken.

"Personally, I'd like to see as many businesses as possible having access to one or more people who are suitably trained and qualified in health and safety matters, so they can see some of these media stories for what they are - poorly trained managers making bad decisions and nothing whatsoever to to do with positive management of health and safety."

The full research report - 'Evaluation of disproportionate decisions on risk assessment and management' (pdf) - is available on the Health and Safety Executive website.

Norwich Union Risk Services 'Getting Started' one-day course covers the basic principles of health and safety, including putting together a safety policy and carrying out risk assessments. Click here for more information.