Free surgeries launched to protect firms and workers

Added by Love Business East Midlands | 20 March 2021

Two leading UK consultancies have launched free advice surgeries to protect firms and workers from the dangers of asbestos and health and safety failures.

 

Asbestos management company Acorn Analytical Services and its sister company, Acorn Safety Services, are offering free 30-minute video calls with one of their experts to help businesses get to grips with health and safety or asbestos issues.

The firms, which both have bases in Northamptonshire, London and Birmingham, have launched the surgeries to help bring down the UK’s number of asbestos-related deaths, workplace fatalities and injuries and to help companies avoid the risk of being prosecuted for breaching the law.

Ian Stone, who is a director of both companies and delivers the asbestos surgeries, said:

“Every year thousands of people here die from asbestos-related diseases and huge numbers suffer work-related illnesses and injuries.

“We also see hundreds of firms facing prosecutions for breaches in health and safety or asbestos law which result in crippling fines, huge court costs and even prison sentences for company owners and managers. Yet, all this can be avoided if people get help to manage their asbestos safely and get to grips with their health and safety requirements.

“We’ve launched these free surgeries because we know many firms are worried about the cost of asking for advice. We don’t want anyone to go without advice that will keep themselves and their staff safe and their businesses free from prosecution because they’re worried about the cost.”

According to the latest figures from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) more than 300 British firms were prosecuted for health and safety breaches in 2019-2020 - resulting in fines of £35.8 million. The figures also showed nearly 700,000 British workers sustained non-fatal injuries, 1.6 million suffered from work-related ill health and there were more than 100 workplace fatalities during the same period. In total the country lost 38.8 million working days due to work-related illnesses and injuries in 2019-2020 at a cost of £16.2 billion to the economy.

Meanwhile, even though use of asbestos in the construction industry was banned here in 1999, experts estimate as many as 1.5 million UK properties still contain it and every year about 5,000 people in the UK die from asbestos-related conditions.

To book a free Health and Safety Review Surgery visit www.acornhealthandsafety.co.uk

and scroll to the heading: Are you 100% Health and Safety Compliant? To book a free Asbestos Review Surgery visit www.acorn-as.com and scroll to the heading: Are you 100% Asbestos Compliant?

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