From 27 October 2003, employees who suffer ill-health or injury as a result of their employer breaching a duty of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, or the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997, can claim damages.

For example, if an injury arises in circumstances where a suitable and sufficient risk assessment has not been made, the employee can seek compensation for injury arising from a breach of the duty to perform a satisfactory risk assessment. Employers can also bring actions against employees who fail to adhere to their obligations under the regulations, but in practice such claims are unlikely.

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 gave non-smokers an entitlement to protection from second-hand smoke in rest areas. Now, the European Commission has decided that employment legislation will be used to impose a blanket ban on workplace smoking. This will be introduced through the Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner at the behest of David Byrne, the Commissioner for Health. Employment legislation is being used because a majority vote rather than unanimous agreement would see the adoption of the new rules. No timetable has yet been announced.

Pertemps, a recruitment agency, incurred fines and costs of £43,000 after a temporary worker was killed in a week when he had worked 120 hours.

Simon Burton was struck by vehicles when crossing the road to mark the position of a sign for principal contractor Lafarge Redland. This landmark case is worth noting because it has established that the worker was acting as an employee of the agency rather than the firm he was contracted to work for.

A new lone-worker system from Blue-Chip Technologies is one of only two approved by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust. The system, which uses mobile phone technology, is flexible enough to be used in a wide variety of situations and can be adapted according to the extent of the risks faced.

For further details, please call Paula Green at PHSC Tel: 01622 717700.

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Reuters reports that a Zurich man sprayed a can of insect killer on a wasps’ nest then tried to use a cigarette lighter to fend off the angry swarm. The resultant fire caused his flat, and those of two neighbours, to burn down, causing SFR500,000 of damage. At least the fire was accidental. Mr Sandhu of Milton Street, Walsall tried to destroy a football-sized wasps’ nest in his attic by deliberately using an aerosol as a flamethrower - he too set his house alight.