Employee Consultation and Involvement in Health and Safety

The following submission has been prepared under the aegis of the Environment, Health and Safety Committee of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The Society welcomes the opportunity to comment on the HSC Discussion Document "Employee consultation and involvement in health and safety".

We welcome this document as a focus for debate on an important issue. However overall we do not agree with the proposals it puts forward, especially in relation to smaller organizations.

SMEs account for a significant proportion of the UK work force and anecdotal evidence suggests many are scarcely aware of the Health and Safety at Work Act, let alone regulations made under it. It may be unfortunate but developments must recognize this reality, as well as concerns about the regulatory burdens placed on industry, particularly SMEs. Overall we do not
believe that this document does address these matters adequately and we do not find the arguments it puts forward convincing.