The Löfstedt's review………how will it affect your business?

The  Löfstedt's report was published in November 2011 and whilst you may be thinking - not another hefty Government report on Health and Safety – there may some outcomes that will benefit your business……so read on!

Professor Lofstedt was requested to look at opportunities for reducing the burden of health and safety legislation on UK businesses and part of this involved reviewing 200 or so health and safety regulations and the 53 Approved Codes of Practice (ACoPs) owned by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The over-riding conclusion from the review was that there is no case for making major changes to current health and safety legislation. The existing regulations place responsibilities primarily on those who create the risks, and recognise that they are best placed to decide how to control them. The review showed there is evidence to suggest that proportionate risk management can make good business sense.

It is clear throughout the report that a future risk-based approach is favoured rather than a hazard-based approach. This will help to ensure that all key elements of the regulatory and legal system are better targeted towards risk and support the proper management of health and safety instead trying to cover every possible risk and accumulating paperwork.

Some of the key recommendations coming out of the review are as follows:

• The HSE should direct all local authority health and safety inspection and enforcement activity in order to ensure it is consistent and that it is targeted towards the most risky workplaces.

• The Government should work more closely with the EU to ensure that both new and existing legislation is risk-based and evidence-based.

• A number of regulations are to be reviewed and clarified including Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981, Work at Height Regulations 2005, Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR). This will identify the burdens that are being imposed on businesses which do not bring any significant benefit to health and safety. There is also to be a consolidation of some sector-specific regulations which will reduce the number of regulations by about 35%.

• The HSE should reviews all of its ACoPs and the initial phase of this should be completed by June 2012.

•  The term ‘So far as is reasonably practicable’ is commonly seen in health and safety legislation. The concept gives employers flexibility to manage risks in a proportionate way and recognises that hazards cannot be eliminated altogether. It is recommended that the HSE should continue to help businesses understand what is reasonably practicable for specific activities.

• Those who are self-employed and whose work activities pose no potential risk of harm to others should be exempt from health and safety law.

Reduce waste and make your ‘doggy bags’ safe……..

Within the UK, it is estimated that 600,000 tonnes of food waste is generated from restaurants each year, impacting not only the environment but our profitability!

The Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) launched their Too Good To Waste campaign at the end of last year as a result of carrying out the first systematic research of food waste in UK restaurants.

The campaign has introduced the concept of the ‘doggy box’, which makes it not just acceptable, but positive for diners to ask to take their leftover food home.

In terms of food hygiene, the box is printed with some guidance for the diner:

1. Refrigerate within two hours
2. Consume within 24 hours
3. Before reheating remove your food from the doggy box and place in a suitable container
4. Reheat your food to piping hot throughout
5. Wipe the inside of the empty box and recycle as paper or in the food recycling bin for composting

If you choose to use the doggy box, we would recommend that you draw the diners’ attention to the hygiene guidance and remind them that once taken from the premises, the food then becomes their responsibility.

For further details of joining the campaign or for more information,  visit :

http://www.toogood-towaste.co.uk

http://www.toogood-towaste.co.uk/supporters/famous-chefs/

Are you ready for the biggest event London has ever staged………?

We are all conscious that July is rapidly approaching. Make sure you have these dates marked clearly in your diaries:

Olympics: 27 July-12 Aug 2012

Paralympics: 29 Aug-9 Sept 2012

In order to put the event into context – here are some facts and figures:

• 10,500 athletes taking part
• 8.8 million tickets issues
• 636 competitive sessions
• 26 sports
• 37 venues involved
• 21,000 accredited and 10,000 non-accredited media covering the event

Have you considered whether your suppliers will be able to deliver on time?
Does your premises have adequate access for disabled persons?
Are your staff going to struggle to get to work?
What is the Food Hygiene Rating for your business and will it help you attract business in a highly competitive market?
What if the unimaginable happens and something goes wrong – do you have a business continuity plan in place?

Following a fire, London hotel has had to pay more than £260,000 in fines and costs……

At the end of last year, the Chumleigh Lodge Hotel Limited and its sole director, Michael Wilson, pleaded not guilty to a total of 12 offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.  The trial took place at Blackfriars Crown Court and is thought to be the first jury trial of a case under the Fire Safety Order.

The offences date back to 18 May 2008 when London Fire Brigade was called to a fire at the hotel in Finchley, London. The blaze had spread quickly from a first floor guest bedroom, up a staircase to the floor above and along a corridor. Three people escaped from the fire, two by using the stairs and a third by climbing out of a second floor window.

Following the incident, fire safety inspectors visited the hotel and raised a number of concerns including defective fire doors, blocked escape routes and a lack of smoke alarms in some of the hotel’s bedrooms. The hotel’s director was also unable to produce a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment and was found not to have provided staff with adequate fire safety training.

The company was found guilty of six offences, while Mr Wilson was found guilty of ‘consent or connivance in the commission’ of those same offences:

• Failure to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of risk

• Failure to provide staff with adequate safety training

• Failure to ensure emergency routes from the premises are kept clear

• Failure to adequately equip premises with fire detectors

• Two counts of failure to ensure premises, facilities, equipment or devices are maintained in an efficient state, in working order and in good repair

As a result of this, a fine was divided between the individual defendant, Michael Wilson (£180,000) and the corporate defendant, Chumleigh Lodge Hotel Limited (£30,000). The defendants were further ordered to pay prosecution costs of £50,000 and compensation of £2,000 to the guest who escaped through a second floor window.

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, every business must:

• Carry out a fire safety risk assessment - this should be undertaken by a suitably qualified and competent person and if you need advice on this, please contact Food Alert’s Advice Line – details below.

• Implement and maintain a fire management plan – including an emergency evacuation procedure. When making your evacuation plan, remember to consider that disabled persons may be in the building, so your plan should include measures to deal with this.

In addition to this, the following should be implemented:

• Training - staff should be provided with information and instruction about the arrangements for fire safety including how to raise the alarm, the location of the fire extinguishers and the evacuation procedure. This should form part of induction training and then refresher training should be carried out annually or sooner if required.

• Designation of Fire Marshals - these should be trained in their specific responsibilities in the event of a fire.

• Practice evacuation twice a year – make sure you record the members of staff that are involved and any problems that occur so that you can revise your evacuation procedure if required. Keep fire escape routes free from obstruction and that clear directional signage is in place.

• Fire detection system and a method of raising the alarm to staff and customers. The alarm should be tested on a weekly basis and subject to annual maintenance. Records should be kept for both.

• Fire-fighting equipment i.e. fire extinguishers and fire blankets, should be made available – these should be subject to annual recorded maintenance.

• Emergency lighting should be installed where required and tested monthly. It should also be subject to annual recorded maintenance.

Changes to RIDDOR

From 6 April 2012, subject to Parliamentary approval, reporting requirements under  the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) will change.

From that date, the trigger point for reporting accidents in the workplace which have resulted in staff members being absent or being unable to carry out their normal work will increase from over three days’ to over seven days’(not counting the day on which the accident happened).

The report must be made within 15 days of the accident and the easiest way to do this is online at http://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/

This change has come about in response to Lord Young’s report, in which the recommendation was made to bring the incident reporting threshold into alignment with that for obtaining a ‘fit note’ from a GP for sickness absence. This will ensure that someone who has suffered a reportable injury has had a professional medical assessment.

You must still keep a record of the accident in your accident book if the worker has been absent or more than three consecutive days and you should carry out a full investigation into how the accident happened and what action must be taken to prevent it happening again.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have made some changes to the way in which reportable work-related injuries and incidents under RIDDOR are notified to them.

Businesses are still able to notify fatal and major incidents and injuries by phone but all other reportable incidents have moved to an online system: http://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/online.htm

Public are concerned about food hygiene when eating out

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) have published some data which shows that the general public continue to be concerned about is food hygiene when eating out. Other issues include food poisoning and the use of additives in food.

The Agency’s Food Hygiene Rating Scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the Food Hygiene Information scheme in Scotland, aim to reduce these concerns by encouraging businesses to improve hygiene standards and reduce the incidence of foodborne illness. The schemes help consumers choose where to eat out or shop for food by giving them information about the hygiene standards in restaurants, cafés, takeaways, hotels and food shops.

Whilst there is still a lack of awareness about the FSA’s Food Hygiene Rating and Scores on the Doors, the profile of both of these schemes will be raised and it is essential that a good rating is achieved in order to protect your business and its reputation.

The rating schemes focus on three areas:

·         Hygiene – food-handling practices and procedures including staff personal hygiene, temperature control, cross-contamination control and demonstration of safe food preparation in terms of cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage.

·         Structure – your premises including cleanliness, layout, condition of structure, lighting, ventilation, facilities and evidence of effective pest control and waste disposal provision.

·         Confidence in management – effectiveness and appropriateness of your documented food safety management system and whether the hazards within your business are understood, properly controlled and managed. Evidence of appropriate staff training and relevant competencies within the business will also be considered.

Window stickers are being provided under the schemes and whilst businesses will be encouraged to display them, it is not yet mandatory.

Food Alert is aware that some businesses have had their star-rating reduced on the basis of them using one vacuum-packing machine for both raw and ready-to-eat products. In accordance with the E.coli guidance that has been issued by the FSA, separate pieces of complex equipment such as vacuum-packing machines, meat slicers and scales must be provided for raw and ready-to-eat foods. Cleaning and sanitisation between uses is no longer considered as an acceptable and robust contrail.

How sustainable is your business ?

The Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) was launched in 2010 in

response to diners’ demands for an easy means to find sustainable

places to eat and restaurants’ need for expert advice and support to meet

that demand.

The SRA is now working with close to 1,000 restaurants across the UK and Food Alert are delighted that a number of our clients are included in this list:

Cabana                                                                                  Café Spice Namaste

Chipotle                                                                               Dishoom                             

Gauthier Soho                                                                   Harvey Nichols                                                 

Hush                                                                                      Le Pain Quotidien                           

Leon                                                                                      Oxo Tower Restaurant

Ping Pong                                                                            Pitt Cue

River Cottage Canteen & Deli                                     Soho House Group

The Chilli Pickle                                                                The Ledbury

The Wolseley                                                                     Wahaca

Wright Brother Soho Oyster House

Every member of the SRA agrees to make at least three areas of the business more sustainable every 12 months. Restaurants don’t have to be sustainable to join, but they need to commit to be better.

A rapidly increasing number of restaurants are also now putting their sustainability credentials to the test. At the last count, 400 had agreed to an SRA Star Rating survey. This is a rigorous test – 70 questions across the whole range of sustainability. It covers everything from waste management, to animal welfare, treatment of staff and ratio of UK wines on the menu. In order to verify restaurants’ claims, the SRA also requires evidence to support their answers.

On the basis of the restaurant’s score the SRA assessor will then calculate whether it has been successful in achieving One, Two or Three Star status. If successful, the restaurant is then getting true recognition for the admirable work it is doing as well as forming a baseline from which it can improve over coming years. Importantly, the SRA Star Rating system provides a straightforward and transparent means by which consumers can pick their dining destination.

The SRA also has a campaigning role and recently took on the enormous 600,000 tonne issue of restaurant food waste. The doggy box is at the heart of the ‘Too Good To Waste’ campaign, to which 100 London restaurants have signed up. These participants also receive a range of materials including advice and information that if implemented should see them cut food waste by 20%.

In 2012 the SRA will turn its campaigning focus to the issue of apprenticeships, helping restaurants find the next generation of chefs and giving young people that all important first step into the industry.

For further information on how the SRA can help you and your business, please visit http://thesra.org/