1.1 Foundations In Health And Saftey

Question 1

Identify 8 possible costs to an organisation when an employee is absent due to a work related injury.

Answer 1

• Sick pay
• Enforcement action, including a fee for intervention from the HSC
• Loss of output
• Overtime payments
• Recruitment costs
• Loss of company reputation
• Recruiting costs for replacement

Question 2

What barriers are there to good standards of health and safety?

Answer 2

1. complexity of workplace
   i. e. coordinate many people, different activities requires
2. competing and conflicting demands
   i. e. buisness targets
3. Behavioural
   i. e. good H&S practice requires on perfect behaviour of individuals. May not be the case due to H&S culture, fatigue, shift work, poor communication, risk taking.

Question 3

Define Health, saftey and the difference between them.

Answer 3

Health is the overall well-being of the individual, both physically and mentally. This tends to take a long time to manifest.

Saftey is free from risk of injury. Note that saftey is more instantaneous than health.

Question 4

x

Answer 4

x

Question 5

Define Welfare

Answer 5

The provision of facilities to maintain the health and wellbeing of individuals. e.g. rest areas, water, bathrooms.

Question 5

Define Welfare

Answer 5

The provision of facilities to maintain the health and wellbeing of individuals. e.g. rest areas, water, bathrooms.

Question 6

Define Hazard and risk

Answer 6

A hazard had the potential to cause harm.

A risk is the likelihood that a hazard would cause harm times the severity of the consequences if they occured.

Question 7

Define Accident and Near Miss

Answer 7

An accident is a unique sequence of events which cause injury, loss or damage to people, plant or premises.

A near miss is a unique sequence of events which has the potential to cause injury, loss or damage to people, plant or premises.

Question 8

Give an example of a hazard and the associated risk.

Answer 8

Hazard - Saw blade
Risk - Likelihood of contacting saw blade and severity of resulting injury.
Risk could be reduced by placing a guard on the blade, providing training for the operative, better supervison etc.

Question 9

What are the main arguments for the promotion of health and saftey, and the prevention of accidents, at work?

Answer 9

Moral
Financial
Legal

Question 10

Give the moral argument for promoting H&S at work.

Answer 10

It is the right thing to do.
Everyone has a basic human right to arrive and leave work in much the same physical state.

moral implications:
Pain and suffering by person who has been injured or health affected.
Impact or anguish for family members and colleagues too.
Continued disability could shorten life or inability to work in future.

Question 11

For a civil case what is the court procedure in relation to H&S matters?

Answer 11

1. County court max fine £50,000

2. High court, Queens bench division,

Question 12

Name the two criminal courts

Answer 12

1. Magistrates court (conviction type: summary)

2. Crown court (conviction type: indictable)

Question 13

What penalty can be received for both a summary and indictable conviction?

Answer 13

A summarily conviction (Magistrates court) has unlimited fine and up to 6 months prison sentence.

A indictable conviction (Crown court) has an unlimited fine and up to 2 years in prison.

Question 14

What are the three components of negligence?

Answer 14

1. A duty of care owed
2. A breach in the duty of care
   (lack of reasonable care)
3. Injury, loss or damage as a result of the breach of duty of care.

Question 15

How is reasonable care determined?

Answer 15

Reasonable care is a balance of risk (likelihood X severity) against cost (time, trouble, expense)

Question 16

Give types of defence that employer might use when being prosecuted for negligence.

Answer 16

Full defence:
No duty of care owed
No duty of care breached
No loss or damage as a result of breach
More than 3 years from injury or date of diagnosis of ill health (Limitations act 1980)

Partial defence: Contributory negligence

Question 17

Identify the main bodies that enforce health and safety. (4)

Answer 17

HSC
Local authority environmental health organisation EHO’s
Fire and rescue authority
Environment agency SEPA