Accident at work claim news
14/06/2007
UK Smoking ban
Following on from the change in smoking law in Scotland during March 2006 and in Wales on 2nd April this year, as of 1st July 2007 all public places in the UK, including work establishments, will be smoke-free. This is a health and safety precaution which is thought will have a positive effect in reducing accident at work claims in the future.
There will be a few exceptions to the rule but the majority of workplaces will be required to wave goodbye to their ash trays under the Smoke-free (Premises and Enforcement) Regulations 2006.
Why is smoking being banned at work?
Even employers in premises that are exempt from the regulation will be required by health and safety legislation to protect their employees from illness and personal injury associated with secondhand smoke.
Immediate effects of second hand smoking include: eye irritation, headaches, coughing, sore throat, dizziness, nausea, a decline in lung function for asthma sufferers as well as a measurable effect on the heart.
A major review carried out by the Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health (SCOTH) deduced that long-term effects of passive smoking include lung cancer and ischaemic heart disease in adult non-smokers. Among children, it has also been linked with respiratory disease, cot death, middle ear disease and asthmatic attacks.
HSE smoke-induced work injury prevention advice
The Health and safety Executive (HSE) recommends that employers take precautionary measures against such work-related illnesses by making sure of the following:
- They have a specific policy on smoking in the workplace
- They take action to reduce the risk to the health and safety of all employees from secondhand smoke to as low a level as reasonably possible
- The smoking policy gives priority to the needs of non-smokers who do not wish to breathe tobacco smoke
- They consult all employees and their representatives on the appropriate smoking policy to suit their particular workplace
What's next?
With just three weeks until the smoking ban is enforced in workplaces, those that currently have a smoking policy should:
- Display no smoking' signs in premises and vehicles used for public use
- Take reasonable steps to make sure that staff, customers and visitors are required by law not to smoke
- Remove any existing indoor smoking rooms
- Make sure that no one smokes in prohibited areas after 1st July
Failure to abide by the new law could not only lead to an employer receiving a hefty fine but also mean that they are still putting staff at risk of sustaining illness for which they have to make accident at work claims.
For more details about the imminent smoking ban and work accidents visit http://www.hse.gov.uk.
