More than 1,200 employers cautioned over smoking ban

More than 1,200 written warnings have been issued to employers for failing to prevent smoking on their premises, according to new inspection figures.

The Department of Health figures show that 1,233 written warnings were issued between July and November last year.

A further 6,646 warnings were given to firms for not displaying the correct signs.

Martin Edwards, head of employment law at Mace & Jones, says that, with thousands of inspections taking place every month, it is critical that firms properly implement their smoking policies: “Getting your smoking policy wrong could see you winding up in costly and time-consuming legal proceedings. Employers who breach the regulations could face fines for either allowing people to smoke or failing to display no-smoking signs.”

The smoking ban in England and Wales covers the majority of public spaces and workplaces, including smoking areas at work and work vehicles. It does not, however, extend outdoors or in private homes.

What are the new measures to prevent illegal working?

New measures designed to help tackle illegal working are due to come into force on 29 February. These include:

• civil penalties for employers who engage illegal migrant workers, with a proposed maximum penalty of up to £10,000 for each illegal worker;
• a new criminal offence of knowingly using illegal migrant labour, carrying a maximum two-year prison sentence and/or an unlimited fine; and
• the introduction of a continuing responsibility for employers to check the ongoing entitlement of migrant workers to work in the UK.

Employers may avoid incurring a civil penalty, if they have unwittingly employed an illegal immigrant, if they are able to establish a ‘statutory excuse’.

In order to do so, however, they must undertake specific document checks prior to recruiting all employees and repeat these checks at least once every 12 months for those employees with limited leave to enter or remain in the UK.

MEPs call for occupational health targets to be set

A report on the EU strategy for health and safety at work claims that the European Commission “is silent on targets for the reduction of occupational diseases”.

According to the report, targets need to be set for the reduction of occupational diseases such as cancer. It also calls for new and emerging risks to be identified, and a plan for phasing out asbestos.

Opening a debate on the matter in Strasbourg, Glenis Willmott, Labour MEP for the East Midlands, said: “The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work estimates that every year more than 140,000 people in the EU die from occupational diseases and nearly 9,000 die from work-related accidents. That means that, every three-and-a-half minutes, somebody in the European Union dies from a work-related cause.

“We need a framework directive on musculoskeletal disorders to address problems such as lower back pain, repetitive strain injuries and, effectively, lower back disorders.”

MEPs suggested that EU member states should draw up national action plans on phasing out asbestos, which should include obligations to map asbestos in buildings and to provide for its safe removal.

Kelly Mansfield is editor of Workplace Law. To find out more about any of these stories visit www.workplacelaw.net/news/news

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