Health and Safety - Complaints and Accidents

"Getting hurt at work is not a pleasant subject to think about but the reality is that in Britain each year an estimated 2.2 million people suffer from ill health caused or made worse by work.

If you are employee, your employer has a legal duty to protect your health, safety and welfare when you are at work. The rules apply to all businesses however small and whatever type of work done.

The law is also there to protect the public from dangers arising from the work. If you are concerned about any aspect of health and safety at work you should first always attempt to resolve the matter with the employer either directly or through your staff representative (if you have one).

If you are dissatisfied you can contact the relevant enforcement authority for the business for impartial advice or to ask for your complaint to be investigated"

Source: Leaflet - Health and Safety in the Workplace produced by Essex Chief Officers Occupational Health and Safety Group.

Complaints about workplace safety.

Basildon Council's Environmental Health team deal with workplace safety in offices, shops, warehouses, places used for leisure activities and other non-industrial premises within the Borough. (The Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998: A-Z guide to allocation (opens new window) deal with factories and other industrial operations).

Types of business regulated by Basildon Council's Environmental Health team include:

• Offices and Shops
• Hotels and Catering
• Consumer Services
• Warehouses
• Leisure and Entertainment
• Residential Accommodation
• Places of Worship and Undertakers
• Pre-School Childcare
• Mobile Vendors
• Animal Care
• Therapeutic and Beauty Services

We investigate complaints relating to dangerous working practices or unsatisfactory conditions at work.
We also deal with enquiries and provide advice and assistance to employers, employees and members of the public in matters relating to workplace safety.
We will aim to respond within 3 working days.
The response we give will depend on the individual circumstances of each complaint and the level of risk presented, but may include:

• advice to the complainant on what they can do;
• a telephone call to the company to gain further information;
• requesting written information from the company;
• a visit to the premises.

We ask for as much information as possible e.g. times/dates, location of incident, witnesses, etc. Whilst we request that the person reporting the problem provide their contact details, we will not divulge these details to the company during the normal course of our investigation.
When we consider we have sufficient information from all relevant parties we will make an assessment as to the most appropriate course of action having regard to the risks involved and our enforcement policy, which can be found on our About Environmental Health Webpage. 

Whistleblowers

If you're reporting an issue about health and safety where you work, you need to be aware of the protection that employment law gives you as a "whistleblower", especially in relation to unfair dismissal and other potential detriments . You can find out more onGOV.UK website Whistleblowing (opens new window)  including the importance of the following the correct process.

Disclosing your name

We ask for your name and correct contact details to allow us to follow-up the issue but we will not disclose your name to your employer if you don't want us to. This is one of the questions you will be asked on the online form. However, depending on the nature and circumstances of the issue it may be possible for your employer to guess that you notified us, particularly if you've already raised the matter with them.

Disclosing information you provide

Occasionally, with good reason, we are asked to keep photographs (or other documents) confidential. We will normally do so, but very exceptionally, when we consider it's necessary to prevent the risk of serious harm, an inspector may need to release the information.

Accidents and Accident Reporting

If you need to discuss an issue regarding workplace safety or want to report an accident,  please contact us. See contact details below.

Employers have a duty to report certain health and safety incidents and accidents to their Local Authority.

Each year, we receive numerous reports from employers relating to accidents, dangerous occurrences or occupational diseases, resulting from work activities.

The types of incidents and accidents which need to be reported are defined in law. For further information please see the Health and Safety Executive - RIDDOR website (opens new window)

Once we have been notified about an accident, we will make an assessment as to whether further investigation is appropriate having regard to the HSE's incident selection criteria.  This will depend upon, for example, the seriousness of the incident and how easily it could have been avoided. We may make contact with the injured person or visit the workplace. Where appropriate we may wish to take witness statements, view documents or take photographs.

The purpose of an accident investigation is to:

• establish the cause
• identify the steps an employer could be taking to minimise the possibility of reoccurrence

When we consider we have sufficient information from all relevant parties we will make an assessment as to the most appropriate course of action having regard to our Environmental Health Services Regulation Policy. Which can be found on our About Environmental Health Webpage.
We will respond within 3 working days for most incidents / accidents. We will respond to major accidents / fatalities within 1 working day.

You can now report an accident or request an inspection, see Online Form:  Report a Dangerous Structures and Public Safety Concerns.