How Brexit will effect the Health and Safety Industry
Posted on September 5, 2016
Like many businesses at the moment, we have been trying to establish how Brexit will effect the Health and Safety industry and other areas closely related to us.
The focus of discussion over possible changes has fallen broadly into two main areas; possible changes to Health & Safety legislation, and the impact a possible economic downturn could have in terms of spending on Health & Safety by businesses.
Changes to Legislation
With regards to health & safety legislation it is predicted that there will not be sweeping changes in this area. Although most of the current legislation is derived from EU law. The UK has historically been proactive in this area. Looking to have as much input as possible on the drafting of legislation.
In fact according to Kevin Bridges, a Health & Safety lawyer at Pinsent Masons, businesses might not see much change at all initially. “The main statute is of course the Health and Safety at Work Act. And that has nothing to do with Europe. So if a business were to believe that exiting Europe will mean a reduction in health and safety laws they need to comply with – that’s unlikely. There might be fewer new regulations, but for health and safety practitioners I think it’s business as usual.”*
However much more emphasis will be placed on the Health & Safety at work act. This was in place before the UK joined the EU, so there has always been a commitment to workplace Health & Safety from UK law makers. This piece of legislation may require strengthening to fill in any gaps no longer covered by EU directives.
Impact on Health & Safety Spending
The other area which is forecast to see changes is spending on Health & Safety if there is an economic downturn.
When businesses are starting to feel cost cutting measures are necessary. The first areas cuts are normally made are ones seen as not essential to day to day running. While this should not effect workplace health & safety too much, as legislation will still need to be complied with in full, things which are seen as on the fringes of health & safety could be shelved.
This could effect funding for occupational health and wellbeing programmes. There is hope within the industry that the recent push for companies to place more emphasis on staff wellbeing programmes could ring fence funding in these areas. Even though the long term benefits of these schemes outweigh the costs. It is often easy for managers to dismiss staff wellbeing programmes. This is due to them being difficult to quantify on a balance sheet.
How Brexit will effect the Health and Safety Industry
The process of Britain withdrawing from the EU is going to be a slow process taking many years. The effects are going to be dependant largely on the deals the UK government can make. This is why predictions being made at present usually come with large caveats. However it is certain that legislation will be needed to regulate areas only covered by EU law. This will be the most important area for businesses to stay on top of in the coming months. Ensuring your company is not falling foul of any changes in legislation.
*http://www.healthandsafetyatwork.com/regulation/eu-referendum-result