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New RF report out today by Lindsay JUdge and @hcslaughter_ : Failed safe? Enforcing workplace health and safety in the age of Covid-19 Some key highlights.... https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/failed-safe/
Nearly half of employees who were back in the workplace in mid-September felt their risk of catching Covid-19 on the job was high or very high – and that’s higher among those in workplaces where they have to interact with lots of people.
The vast majority of employers have taken steps to curb transmission, such as requiring social distancing, cleaning more frequently, and introducing PPE.
But despite the steps employers have taken, more than a third (35 per cent) of workers have an active concern about workplace transmission.
Some groups that are at higher risk from the virus, such as shielders and BAME employees, are understandably more worried. But 18-24-year-olds have among the highest levels of concern – a finding that is explained entirely by the types of jobs they do.
Two-in-five workers have not spoken out about their worries. And despite high levels of concern, people who work in shops and restaurants are the least likely to raise their concern with their employer.
The lowest-paid workers are less likely to raise their concerns than those on higher pay – and 18-24-year-olds are only half as likely to complain as 55-65-year-olds.
Three-in-ten workers who have raised a concern have not seen their issue addressed. Low-paid workers, those in atypical work, and those in customer-facing environments are least likely to see their safety concerns resolved.
What’s more, nearly half of workers wouldn’t know where to go if a safety concern they raised wasn’t resolved. Among those who did have an idea of where to go, unions were a key port of call.
So how have the relevant authorities responded to the pandemic? The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) all but stopped site visits at the height of lockdown, though inspections have since ramped up.
But after a decade of budget cuts, HSE came into the pandemic with weakened capacity. Despite a funding boost in May, HSE still has an operating budget of just £100 a year for each premise it is responsible for, compared to £224 per workplace in 2010-11.
Likewise, local authorities issued 80 per cent fewer health and safety enforcement notices in 2018-19 than they did in 2010-11, at least in part reflecting resource constraints.
During the pandemic, the health and safety system has focused on supporting employers to comply with the guidance. But we argue they could make more use of their formal powers: enforcement notices remain well below average, for example.
The system has made great efforts to adapt at speed – but the pandemic has exposed the weaknesses in our labour market enforcement. Without robust enforcement, workers and the general public are left exposed, and workplaces can’t function efficiently. https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/failed-safe/
