Mar 2022
News - March 2022- Legal Update
News: Coronavirus
Updates on COVID-19 advice. The remaining domestic COVID-19 restrictions were removed in England on 24 February 2022 including the legal requirement to self-isolate. However, guidance still advises five full days of isolation followed by two consecutive days of negative test results before returning to circulation after coronavirus. Self-isolation support payments have ceased, and contact tracing systems are also no longer required.
Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance and support - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
News: HSE
Beware DIY Tree Work. The HSE has warned of the dangers of ‘having a go’ at clearing fallen trees saying they have been notified of nine work-related fatalities involving falling trees or branches since January 2021. This work should only be carried out by trained and experienced professionals such as those with appropriate NPTC qualifications:
News: Hand-held Devices
Driving Changes. From 25 March 2022, drivers will be committing a specific offence by using hand-held devices at the wheel for any purpose. The ban plugs a legal loophole so that phones cannot be legally used e.g. to video or play games, whilst driving. The penalty will be a £200 fixed penalty notice and six points.
News: Highway Code
Highway Code. Changes to the Highway Code recently made, impose a new hierarchy of road users, giving more rights to pedestrians, cyclists and horses. One feature is that more space is required when overtaking cyclists and horses.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/the-highway-code-8-changes-you-need-to-know-from-29-january-2022
News: Air Quality
Air Cleaning Devices. The Welsh Government looked at whether air cleaning devices could help in poorly ventilated classrooms. It concluded that they help, but only in a small way compared with ventilation improvements. Also, although the purifiers work rapidly to halve particle concentrations in 6-15 minutes, to do this you need to use a strong purifier delivering greater than 1,000m3/h of clean air. These come with a noise issue, therefore it’s not a perfect solution.
News: Fire Safety
Enforcing Fire Safety in Flats. The Local Government Association has published details of how fire safety should be enforced in blocks of flats over 11 metres in height once the Fire Safety Act comes into force. The Bill is currently passing through parliament.
https://www.local.gov.uk/publications/principles-effective-regulation-fire-safety-flats
London Fire Safety Plan. A consultation has been launched for Fire Safety Guidance which will ensure excellence in fire safety design of future developments in London. Those involved in developing in the Capital may find it helpful to participate.
https://consult.london.gov.uk/firesafety
Case law:
Working whilst holding the load was unsafe. A stone masonry company has been fined after an employee’s leg was broken, and his foot crushed, by a forklift truck. It was caused because operatives would walk in front of the forklift truck to steady the suspended load, meaning no suitable separation from the vehicle.
https://www.ioshmagazine.com/2022/01/18/claim-dismissed-against-tube-after-fatal-fall-trespasser
Owner of holiday flats on fire charges. The owner of a block of holiday apartments has found himself in court after a fire spread rapidly from a kitchen in one flat to the stairway. The immediate cause was that the doors to the flats were not fitted with a self-closing device, but on investigation it was found that there was no fire risk assessment and an inoperable fire alarm system. Philip Hunt pleaded guilty to 11 charges and was fined £12,800 plus costs of £10,000.
Boss handed community service order. Ian Davey, the director of a fibre-glassing company, has been ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work, and pay costs of £3,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 9(2), Work at Height Regulations 2005. The case followed an accident in which a labourer fell five metres through a fragile skylight.
https://press.hse.gov.uk/2022/02/03/roofing-contractor-sentenced-after-worker-falls-from-height/
Fall down waste chute. A skip hire company has been fined £17,500 in connection with an accident in which an employee fell four metres through a waste chute.
https://press.hse.gov.uk/2022/02/02/recycling-company-fined-after-18-year-old-employee-injured/
Son prosecuted for father’s death whilst glass fitting. Night and Day Glaziers Ltd has appeared in court over the fatal fall of Arthur Harbutt, 78, former director of the company. The man fell from the scaffold into the building at Cribbs Causeway, Bristol, a side which was not protected by scaffold railings. His son Garry Harbutt was convicted of safety charges but cleared of gross negligence manslaughter. He was fined £4000. The company was fined £31,500 and ordered to pay £15,000 in costs.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-60140774
School in court over mountain rescue of children. A company has been fined after its school ran an inadequately planned school trip on Helvellyn in winter, leading to a group of children needing to be rescued. The school was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,574.
Gloved hand was drawn into machine. A metal fabrication company has been prosecuted over an accident in which an apprentice’s gloved hand was drawn into the rotating parts of a machine. There was no risk assessment for the machine. R. Briggs Sheetmetal Fabrication Ltd was fined £13,000 plus costs of £2,682.
Corporate manslaughter conviction for recycling firm. Alutrade Limited has admitted corporate manslaughter in connection with the death of Stuart Towns, who was struck by moving machinery and received fatal head injuries. Stuart was in an area which should have been securely fenced and only entered when machinery was isolated from power sources.
Leisure centre admits safety failings in near drowning case. Kilmarnock Leisure Centre Trust has pleaded guilty to charges that it failed in its duty of care to a six-year-old girl whose life was saved by an eleven-year-old boy during “fun” inflatables play session. There was no suitable and sufficient risk assessment of the use of inflatables, manufacturer’s instructions were not followed, and lifeguard zone visibility tests had not been carried out.