This bulletin contains 4 health and safety updates

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Health and Safety Executive

Health and safety updates ebulletin

Issued: 1 November 2024

For daily updates on health and safety issues visit HSE's website.

Shining a light on asbestos-related diseases

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month

HSE is shining a light on occupational lung diseases and how we can work together to protect workers’ health.  

It is estimated that 12,000 people die from work-related lung diseases every year.

These deaths, linked to exposure to hazardous substances at work, include lung cancer and approximately 5,000 asbestos-related disease deaths.

HSE is currently running 2 campaigns to highlight the risks of asbestos and how to stay safe. For free resources and information, visit our campaign pages:  

  • Asbestos – Your Duty provides guidance and templates to support dutyholders with the legal duty to manage asbestos in buildings  
  • Asbestos and You highlights the risk of asbestos to tradespeople and includes a free quick guide for tradespeople to download


Minimise manual handling risks ahead of the festive season approaches

We are approaching the busiest time of the year in the haulage and distribution industry 

The increased demand on workers may result in an increased risk of injury from hazardous manual handling.

You can find help with preventing these sort of risks in your workplace on our manual handling webpages.

They have a range of useful information and guidance for employers, including sections on assessing manual handling and training for workers.

There are also links to a variety of useful resources, which include free versions of HSE's publications:

  • Manual handling at work: a brief guide
  • Manual handling: guidance on Regulations


Build control approval: updated FAQs

HSE’s Building Safety Regulator (BSR) became the Building Control Authority (BCA) for all higher-risk buildings (HRBs) in England in 2023

BSR has produced a useful frequently asked questions (FAQ) guide on how the BCA works, and what BSR expects from industry, including information on submitting high-quality applications.

Regularly updated as a result of industry feedback, the FAQ guide includes commonly found issues with rejected applications.

There is also a BSR vlog available explaining some of the important changes in building control for HRBs.


Farm owner fined after death of roofer

The farmer was fined £16,000 after incorrect equipment was used to access the roof, causing the worker to fall around 16 feet

The worker had been asked to replace a roof panel and asked to be lifted up to access the area. A forklift truck with a potato box balanced on the forks was used to raise the worker.

The box became unbalanced and the worker fell to the floor, causing fatal head injuries.

For more information read about this incident in our press release Cheshire farm owner fined after roofer dies in fall.

Our website has guidance on how employers can protect workers working at height.

Visit our media centre for further details of HSE prosecutions.

Stress Awareness Week: 4 to 8 November 2024

Many people still don’t realise that it’s a legal duty to include work-related stress in risk assessments.

You can help change that during stress awareness week by:

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