Construction companies getting into a "welfare state

Construction companies getting into a "welfare state"

Construction companies getting into a "welfare state"

Keywords: Construction industry, Health and safety, Legislation

Failure to provide adequate on-site welfare facilities for workers is costing construction companies thousand of pounds each year as a result of prosecutions through the Health & Safety Executive.

The UK's number one company in portable accommodation and secure storage, Peterborough-based Elliott Workspace has identified cases throughout the last two years, where fines totalling nearly £60,000 have been imposed for offences of this nature, mainly under the 1974 Health & Safety at Work Act and the Construction Regulations.

Many of these instances related to the lack of provision of adequate toilet facilities and of hot running water for hand washing, resulting in individual fines ranging from £250 up to £4,000 in the case of a Gloucestershire based company, which was prosecuted for no hot/warm water for washing.

Rod Hepper, Elliott Workspace Marketing Manager, commented: "It seems that there are companies across the UK which are still ignorant or complacent about the need to provide the appropriate welfare facilities on construction sites – with many continuing to offend even after official warnings from the HSE.

"It is a legal requirement that proper toilet facilities be provided on-site, and that warm running water is available at all times. This is especially important when employees are working with cement, which is known to cause dermatitis if it is not cleaned off the skin quickly after use.

"The current crackdown by the HSE is catching dozens of companies out and the only way to avoid this is for them to ensure that facilities are provided in line with the regulations in force.

"A number of prosecutions have resulted from unannounced inspections of sites, such as that of a construction company in Devon, which was fined £2,500 for having no hot water or accessible toilet facilities."

Rod Hepper concluded: "Installing proper facilities on-site costs far less than the fines that the HSE will impose if inspectors find the law being flouted."

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