The latest health and safety information for employers and workers in the construction industry
 

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Health and Safety Executive

Construction ebulletin

Issued: 22 January 2025

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Guidance on working in cold and wintry weather

Make sure you protect workers during low temperatures and wintry conditions.

You can find helpful advice from HSE on keeping people as comfortable as possible when working in the cold.

Our website offers information and guidance including:


You can also read our guidance on preventing slips and trips in winter weather.


Help us mark 50 years of HSE

Created by the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, HSE was officially launched on 1 January 1975.

Working together with local authorities for the last 50 years, we have played a central role in reducing workplace death and injury, helping Great Britain become one of the safest places in the world to work.

In 1974, 651 workers were killed at work. HSE’s latest annual statistics for 2023 to 2024 show that number has reduced to 138.

You can:


Blog: a personal story of asbestos exposure

Our latest asbestos campaign blog highlights the impact of asbestos exposure on a member of HSE's digital team.

Dan Williamson shares the impact of asbestos exposure on his family, where 3 members died from asbestos-related cancer.

This personal account highlights the ongoing presence of asbestos in many buildings and the risks posed when it is disturbed or damaged.


Protect workers from hand-arm vibration

There were 215 new cases of hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) recorded in Great Britain in 2023.

HSE's hand-arm vibration calculator can assist you in calculating exposures along with guidance on how to use it.

Access the guidance, as well as a link to the calculator, on our webpage: the hand-arm vibration exposure calculator.

Guidance on how to control risks from exposure to vibration in construction is available at: Construction physical ill health risks: Vibration.

HAVS prosecution

Following a HSE investigation, a council was recently fined £60,000 for exposing workers to the risks arising from the use of vibrating tools.

Read more in our press release: Council fined after workers exposed to risks from vibrating tools.

Upcoming HAVS training course

HSE is also running a one-day course around hand-arm vibration management on Tuesday 4 March 2025 at HSE's Science and Research Centre in Buxton.

Book your place at Hand-arm vibration: management in the workplace.


Health and safety training and events

HSE will continue to deliver and be involved in a wide range of innovative and relevant training courses and events in 2025.

HSE's training is delivered by experts to help organisations comply with the law and keep workforces healthy and safe.

Upcoming courses include:


Find out more about HSE's training, webinars and events

WWT events

The CONIAC website includes the regional groups that make up the Working Well Together Initiative (WWT) and its health and safety events. These include:


Recent HSE enforcement activity

Client duties

Links for further guidance and information: Commercial clients: roles and responsibilities

Risk assessment

Links for further guidance and information: Managing risks and risk assessment at work

Work at height – roof work

Links for further guidance and information: Roof work

Work at height – solar panels

Links for further guidance and information: Solar panel installation

Work at height – fragile surfaces

Links for further guidance and information: Fragile surfaces

Vital statistics poster 2024

The poster presents HSE's health and safety statistics for 2023 to 2024 in an infographic style that is easy to understand.

Find out more and order your copy: Health and safety at work: Vital statistics poster 2024

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