Employers ‘responsible for health and safety’

Employers are being reminded that it is their responsibility to ensure the health and safety of their employees while in the workplace.

Addressing delegates at the National Safety Symposium last week, the chair of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) gave a stark warning to companies.

"We in HSE are not responsible for managing health and safety in your workplace – you are," said Judith Hackitt, insisting that "those who create the risk are best placed to manage it".

The HSE pointed out that while big improvements have been made in terms of health and safety, more than 200 people still die at work every year.

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Ms Hackitt said there was a need to stamp out complacency and boost partnership working to ensure this figure is reduced and that British workplaces are as safe as possible.

According to HSE statistics, six million working days were lost due to workplace injury in 2006-07 and 241 people were killed at work.