Paperwork Reduction with New Health and Safety Laws
The changes coming to the UK health and safety laws may create a few positives. At the moment, it seems as though paperwork will be reduced with injury reporting. This means that the hours it takes for official paperwork to be completed will be reduced. This could save thousands of hours for the firms involved. As of April 6th 2012, employers will not have to report injuries that will require fewer than seven days from which to recover. It means that injuries considered minor no longer require paperwork. This is good news for the firms, and as long as the injuries are not serious, it can be good news for workers.
Health and safety at work is meant to stop any major accident or death from occurring. This means that a person will still have to fill out the health and safety paperwork if there is a major injury or even an injury that is minor in nature but will take more than seven days to heal. The hope is that 30% of the incidents that are reported will be eliminated because they are minor enough not to warrant any action from the employer. Still, there are reasons for injuries to be reported such as making certain it is a minor injury and not worth reporting versus one that could worsen over time. The decision about what to report will need to be made by the employee and employer with a visit to the doctor if there is a question of severity.
