Coming Soon Free Health & Safety Online Guidance

[brothermagrew]

Health and safety guidance to be free online:

Authoritative guidance about how to protect employees from workplace dangers is to be given away free by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

From September 2009 around 250 priced publications that contain health and safety advice and guidance will be made freely available from HSE’s website in PDF format to view and print.

The publications cover the full range of HSE’s guidance as well as approved codes of practice (ACOPs) and guidance on regulations.

HSE said it was making the information available to help employers better understand their legal duties and what health and safety precautions they need to take, and to help safety representatives in maintaining and improving health and safety in the workplace.

Those that wish to will still have the option to buy professionally produced printed versions from HSE Books.

Although the publications will be made freely available online, Crown copyright will still apply and organisations wishing to reproduce the information will still need an appropriate licence from the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI).

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Thats a damn good idea - lets hope they also allow workers and their reps access as well, after all it makes your case stronger if there is a dispute and you already know, or can find out, what their responsibilities are.

Can't be a government idea its a good one.

[brothermagrew]

Thats a damn good idea - lets hope they also allow workers and their reps access as well, after all it makes your case stronger if there is a dispute and you already know, or can find out, what their responsibilities are.

Can't be a government idea its a good one.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is making millions of pounds worth of its priced publications available free online. The move, pressed for by the TUC and unions, was announced this week at the launch of the new HSE strategy (see below). TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'Union safety representatives need access to the safety guidance and approved codes of practice that the HSE produces in order to deal with problems at work or to challenge their employers when they cut safety corners in the workplace. As unpaid volunteers, safety reps often cannot afford to purchase copies of these materials themselves.' He added: 'The TUC has been calling for free access to HSE publications for many years and it was a key point we made in the recent TUC charter for safety reps. Unions will be delighted that the HSE has listened to the arguments and agreed that within the next year all priced publications will be accessible in pdf format on its website. This will be a great help to safety representatives in their work with employers to ensure compliance with safety laws and the promotion of good health and safety practice.' The first of the previously priced documents will appear online from September, with the remainder expected to be available for download by March 2010.

As you had already derived brother Teebs certainly not a government idea.