The latest health and safety news and updates from HSE

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Health and Safety Executive

Weekly Digest ebulletin

Issued: 30 January 2025

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Health and safety law poster: what you need to know

The poster explains health and safety laws and lists what workers and their employers should do.

If you employ anyone, you must either:

  • display the health and safety law poster where your workers can easily read it
  • provide each worker with the equivalent health and safety law leaflet


There are various versions of the health and safety law poster, so you can select the most appropriate for your business. You can:


HSE also provides health and safety law pocket cards. These are a legal alternative to the law poster and are easy to distribute to your workers so they can carry a pocket card with them.


Manufacturing firm fined after workers struck by stone slabs

One of the workers sustained multiple bone fractures in the incident and has been unable to work for over 2 years.

The workers had been preparing to lift one of 3 quartz stone slabs onto a saw bed from a stillage when all the slabs fell onto them.

HSE's investigation found that:

  • the company's handling and storage of slabs was unsafe in that the material was not secure
  • the company also failed to accurately report the injuries sustained under Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR)
  • the restraint system provided did not fit around larger sizes of material


Read more in our press release: Manufacturing firm fined after workers struck by stone slabs.

You can visit our news centre for more on recent enforcement cases.


HSE asbestos inspections ongoing

HSE inspectors are visiting the head offices of councils across the country to ensure asbestos risks are being managed effectively to keep people safe.  

Each visit will see inspections take place at several different sites within each local authority’s property portfolio. This continues the work of previous inspection campaigns that targeted hospitals and schools.

The duty to manage asbestos covers a wide range of buildings, some regulated by HSE and others regulated by our colleagues in local authorities.

For further information on the duty to manage asbestos, you can: 


Video: the Face Fit Respirator Demonstrator model

In partnership with the British Safety Industry Federation, HSE has published a refreshed version of a video on the Face Fit Respirator Demonstrator model (FFRED).

The video is for tight-fitting respiratory protective equipment (RPE). It provides information for workers and their employers on:

  • why it is important for individuals to have face fit tests for tight-fitting masks, such as disposable filtering face pieces (FFPs) and reusable half-face mask types
  • the importance of it having a good seal to the face
  • what happens if the respirator does not fit properly


You can watch the video on the FFRED.

HSE’s guidance on fit testing basics for RPE has also been refreshed to provide information of how to maintain the hygiene of face fit testing kit.


Latest job vacancies with HSE

Come and join HSE, where you can develop your career and help protect people and places.

We currently have a range of vacancies, which include:

Electricity at work: Safe working practices

HSE's guidance publication covers the key elements to consider when devising safe working practices and is for people who carry out work on or near electrical equipment.

You can download a free copy or buy the book: Electricity at work: Safe working practices (HSG85).

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