HSE in my workshop?
Discussion
There is only me who works there, can the HSE come in (they have no reason to, no complaints, no accidents) inspect and make me comply with HSE regs?
I'm not dangerous, but save money by looking after my own equipment rather than pay someone to officially certificate it, there may be a fire extinguisher slightly overdue a check and things like that.
The obvious thing to say is that I can only damage myself in the event of an accident so they would have no right, but I'm not sure and read otherwise. Anyone any ideas?
I'm not dangerous, but save money by looking after my own equipment rather than pay someone to officially certificate it, there may be a fire extinguisher slightly overdue a check and things like that.
The obvious thing to say is that I can only damage myself in the event of an accident so they would have no right, but I'm not sure and read otherwise. Anyone any ideas?
I'm talking about the real thing here, The HSE not other types of companies and it's not a building site nor do I have employees.
Certificates such as ones for power tool safety checks etc. I was pondering over getting a vehicle lift and know that 'officially' it will need inspections and certificates, but the thing is I can't afford a lot of this at the moment as it's early stages, if my small workshop becomes more successful i'll add more and more safety related items such as steel cupboards to put cans of paint in and the like.
A casual observer might say a two post lift without a cert is dangerous, but i've worked on these things most of my life so know what is what, how to set them up and work safely on them, I don't need to pay someone who probably knows less than I do!
The question came about as I've got a small unit in a group of similar, one of my neighbours is causing concerns to the others as he's painting cars. Problem is he's not very bright and doesn't (and won't) keep himself to himself, the filler dust and paint are getting into others units, the owner of one isn't too happy so has threatened to get the HSE involved to either make him comply or get him out.
The other small business owners are worried about the wider implications of HSE arriving and deciding to check out their units too, would that be the case?
As I see it it's their business what they do in their own workshops, (apart from the one) they work mainly on their own, and don't bother anyone else, but I know if they get inspected too there will be wider implications. I don't know how the HSE work and was wondering if anyone did, if they are called to one business will they bother the others?
My other question is how far do the Landlords have to go when renting out units? There is very little in the way of correct fireproofing or H&S items provided by him, but as they've got a lot of sites and have been doing it a long time presume they knows what they're doing. Is it the tenants job to make the place safe?
Certificates such as ones for power tool safety checks etc. I was pondering over getting a vehicle lift and know that 'officially' it will need inspections and certificates, but the thing is I can't afford a lot of this at the moment as it's early stages, if my small workshop becomes more successful i'll add more and more safety related items such as steel cupboards to put cans of paint in and the like.
A casual observer might say a two post lift without a cert is dangerous, but i've worked on these things most of my life so know what is what, how to set them up and work safely on them, I don't need to pay someone who probably knows less than I do!
The question came about as I've got a small unit in a group of similar, one of my neighbours is causing concerns to the others as he's painting cars. Problem is he's not very bright and doesn't (and won't) keep himself to himself, the filler dust and paint are getting into others units, the owner of one isn't too happy so has threatened to get the HSE involved to either make him comply or get him out.
The other small business owners are worried about the wider implications of HSE arriving and deciding to check out their units too, would that be the case?
As I see it it's their business what they do in their own workshops, (apart from the one) they work mainly on their own, and don't bother anyone else, but I know if they get inspected too there will be wider implications. I don't know how the HSE work and was wondering if anyone did, if they are called to one business will they bother the others?
My other question is how far do the Landlords have to go when renting out units? There is very little in the way of correct fireproofing or H&S items provided by him, but as they've got a lot of sites and have been doing it a long time presume they knows what they're doing. Is it the tenants job to make the place safe?
Mr Taxpayer said:
You have to conduct risk assessments for all activities you undertake; however if you employ 5 people or less you do not have to record them. Your lack of certification for various things things may affect your ability to claim against your insurer in the event of an accident, but is unlikely to attract the attention of the HSE. E.g. your compressor catches fire but you are unable to extinguish the fire because you fire extinguisher is faulty and your workshop burns down. The insurer is likely to take a dim view of this.
Your noisy, dusty, possibly chemical emitting neighbour sounds like he's a statutory nuisance. The Health & Safety At Work Act Section 5 is titled "General duties of persons in control of certain premises in relation to harmful emissions into atmosphere". A phonecall to your local Environmental Health Officer (part of the council) would be the best way to address this. If they feel that he is causing a nuisance they may hit him with an Improvement Notice or if it really bad, a Prohibition Notice that effectively shuts him down until improvements have been made.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37
Thankyou for your post, i'll follow up the links. The Council EHO have already been called and aren't interested as it's outside of what they deal with, 'Industrial' I think and unconnected to the general public like a high street shop for instance, they advised HSE.Your noisy, dusty, possibly chemical emitting neighbour sounds like he's a statutory nuisance. The Health & Safety At Work Act Section 5 is titled "General duties of persons in control of certain premises in relation to harmful emissions into atmosphere". A phonecall to your local Environmental Health Officer (part of the council) would be the best way to address this. If they feel that he is causing a nuisance they may hit him with an Improvement Notice or if it really bad, a Prohibition Notice that effectively shuts him down until improvements have been made.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37
Magog said:
Are 226bhp neighbours emissions not potentially a statutory nuisance, as defined under section 79 of the Environmental protection act, which should be enforced by the local authority?
We think we've got him on his usage of the unit, it's listed as B1 and B8 Light industrial and storage, I don't think what he does is classed as that, the Landlord should act, but isn't.That aside thanks for everyones posts, especially the Youtube clip, all good stuff.
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