Hazardous, Mouldy and Unsafe – Is There A Right To A Good Home?

a post by Jam Collins for the Rights Info blog: Human Rights News, Views and Info


Image from the UCL Rent Strike. Alisdare Hickson / Flickr

Having somewhere safe to call home is one of the most fundamental aspects of our daily lives, and it has a profound reach across our human rights. From our health and education to our family lives and dignity, these are protections afforded to us all.

However, for many of us, this simply doesn’t translate into reality. From faulty appliances to dangerous living conditions, many tenants find themselves trapped in unsanitary homes, often unable to complain for fear of being kicked out.

And it’s a problem that’s getting worse. Almost three-quarters of a million people are living in unsafe or unsanitary homes, according to a new investigation by The Times. At least 375,000 of these tenants are in a home with a potentially life-threatening fault.

But what are the rules? What can tenants legally expect and who can they turn to if things go wrong? And just how bad can things get?

Continue reading

I continued and stopped when I could take no more.

One third of private rental properties fail basic health and safety checks.

Terrifying in a supposedly civilised country.

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Clarity needed in training the ‘temps’: Agency staff’s greater risk of work-related disorders

an article by Brian Beal (affiliation not provided) published in Human Resource Management International Digest Volume 25 Issue 2 (2017)

Abstract

Purpose
Research shows that the risk of work-related disorders is higher among temporary agency workers than among other employees. The purpose of this paper is to describe the working conditions of temporary agency workers and explains which factors contribute towards work-related disorders for this group.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on a survey responded to by 482 agency workers in Sweden. The dependent variable is the prevalence of work-related disorders. Independent variables include personal characteristics, job characteristics, employment characteristics and temporary agency work characteristics.

Findings
The study indicates several risk factors: holding a position as a blue-collar worker; being assigned to more physically demanding work tasks and having fewer opportunities to learn new things than client organization employees; lacking training for work tasks; and lacking clarity regarding which work tasks to do during an assignment.

Originality/value
The theoretical implications of this study are related to the dual employment–management relationship in temporary agency work where the temporary work agency and client organization follow different logics. The logic in the employment relationship is to contract temporary agency workers out to client organizations; thus, there is no time for formal training. The logic in the management relationship lies in making temporary agency workers profitable as soon as possible, encouraging shortcuts in training and instruction; thus, temporary agency workers risk being left with a lack of clarity regarding what to do and how to do it.

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The “Management Standards” for stress in large organizations

an article by Nadine Mellor and Phoebe Smith (Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL), Buxton, UK) and Colin Mackay and David Palferman (Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Bootle, UK) published in International Journal of Workplace Health Management Volume 6 Issue 1 (2013)

Abstract

Purpose
In Great Britain, the ‘”Management Standards” were launched in 2004 and formally published in 2007 by the Health and Safety Executive to help organisations manage work-related stress. The purpose of this paper is to examine how these Standards are translated into organisational practice.

Design/methodology/approach
The research uses case studies carried out in five large organisations drawn from the public and private sectors in Great Britain.

Findings
Senior management commitment and worker participation are key to managing work-related stress and are commonly reported across organisations, although to variable form and depth. The solution chosen to identify stress issues is a short assessment of all staff via annual staff surveys, coupled with in-depth assessments of groups at risk. Common practice also includes combining individual and organisational interventions. One significant challenge emerges as the translation from identified stress issues to focussed interventions and their evaluation.

Research limitations/implications
The implementation processes outlined in this study are by no means exhaustive due to the small sample size but are consistent with previous research.

Practical implications
The findings suggest that the HSE Management Standards approach for dealing with stress issues is do-able. Refining the information in the HSE guidance on implementing and evaluating interventions and broadening the current focus on organisation-level interventions is needed.

Originality/value
Publication of case studies of the implementation of the Management Standards has been limited. This paper illustrates the efforts made by large organisations to integrate national guidance on stress and this could be used for guiding and improving stress management in similar work settings.

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Firms to be charged for health and safety investigations

via Cobweb Information

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched a new cost recovery scheme that will see businesses found to have broken health and safety laws charged for the cost of inspections, investigations and enforcement action.

Charges under the new Fee for Intervention (FFI) scheme will be calculated at an hourly rate of £124. Richard Jones of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) said “we would be concerned if this scheme led to greater under-reporting of work-related accidents or put duty holders off seeking regulator advice.”

Read more about the new scheme on the HSE’s website

And more on the IOSH statement

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The future of health and wellbeing in the workplace

This paper is one of a series commissioned by Acas to address the future of workplace relations. It follows a publication in January 2011 The Future of Workplace Relations: An Acas View which addressed the wider terrain of employment relations including the drivers for change and the key future challenges. All papers in the series can be found at www.acas.org.uk/future

This Acas Policy Discussion paper was written by Emma Donaldson Feilder, Chartered Occupational Psychologist, Affinity Health at Work and Sarah Podro, Acas Senior Policy Adviser. The views expressed are those of the authors and not the Acas Council.

Series editors Sarah Podro and Gill Dix. We welcome your comments and opinions. These should be sent to policypublications@acas.org.uk

Whilst physical health and safety in the workplace remains a paramount concern, more recently there has been a growing recognition of the importance of psychosocial issues, with a focus on both the psychological and social elements of work. An exploration of work and well-being touches on a vast array of employment relations issues from leadership to job design, organisational policy to workplace culture.

The authors review the broadening of the health at work agenda and the link to the concepts of good work and engagement.

The paper then goes on to highlight the future challenges to health and well-being such as the ageing workforce and economic austerity measures. It then turns to government policy in this area with a focus on the outcomes of the initiatives set in train by Dame Carol Black and her team in addressing absence and return to work strategies, and considers what future policy and workplace initiatives might best address well-being at work.

Full text (PDF 15pp)

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