An Anniversary Worth Celebrating
To mark the 50th anniversary of the Health and Safety at Work Act, we here at SAMS are posing the question: what has health & safety ever done for us?
Many people still think of health & safety rules as annoying or unnecessary. Yet as our video shows, many basic protections we take for granted are thanks to the Health and Safety at Work Act—from toilets and drinking water, to hard hats and high-viz.
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 was a landmark piece of legislation, and it’s still incredibly influential today. The law marked the first time safety rules applied to all workplaces, and not just places like factories or mines that were known to be dangerous.
The Act also saw the creation of the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), and is now the foundation for over 100 subsequent safety rules. Statutory instruments under the Act govern everything from fire safety, to dangerous substances, to safe working at height.
We’ve put together a month of content to teach people more about the Health and Safety at Work Act, and recognise the incredible changes it’s made to UK workplaces. Our first blog post below is looking towards the future, and considering what safety might look like in 50 years.
A health and safety revolution
Before the Health and Safety at Work Act, the UK wasn’t always a great place to work. Laws were made to regulate particularly dangerous industries, but these were limited both in scope and enforcement. The spike in asbestos-related diseases over the past two decades can be largely attributed to this Wild West approach to safety, where the protection afforded to you depended which industry you were in, and how much your bosses were willing to do.
The picture from before and after the Health and Safety at Work Act is stark. Last year, there were 519 fewer deaths than the year before the law was enacted. Employees frequently died or suffered life-changing injuries due to falls from height, crushing injuries, machinery accidents, gas leaks, and other issues we’d consider rare in a modern workplace.
To highlight just how much has changed since the Health and Safety at Work Act was passed, we’ll be releasing content throughout the month about the Act, and the past, present and future of health & safety in the UK. Check out the articles we’ve written so far below, or visit our blog for all of our opinions and deep-dives on current safety issues.
What does the future of health & safety look like?
Section 6: how a safety law helped change product design
Championing health & safety
At SAMS, we know the value of a safe workplace. Our trainers come from backgrounds including trades and haulage, and our directors are experienced trainers themselves. We’ve seen first-hand the value that our safety consultancy and training delivers to individuals and organisations.
SAMS is a leading provider of safety training and consultancy services. As well as in-person training at our base in Manston, Kent, we provide Zoom and pre-recorded video training to people across the UK, including our flagship UKATA Asbestos Awareness course.
Our services help to make people safer and more comfortable at work, delivering better productivity and saving businesses money. Workplace safety is an investment in your business, and SAMS has provided value to hundreds of organisations over the years.
Our courses include SMSTS, SSSTS, Asbestos Awareness, CITB Health & Safety Awareness, Mental Health First Aid, Driver CPC and many more. Our consultancy services meanwhile range from safety and fire risk assessments to environmental management.
Helping you work safer
SAMS is committed to making modern workplaces safer, both through training and consultancy. We offer a range of competitively-priced consultancy packages for ongoing support, and hundreds of online and in-person training options to suit all needs.
We believe in making safety training available to everyone. We have pioneered the delivery of online safety training through a variety of formats, including in-person, pre-recorded videos, and interactive training via Zoom. This allows us to train people across the country at a time and place that suits them, opening up training to everyone who needs it.
Our course and consultancy offerings are always evolving. We have recently expanded our fire safety options to include licensed fire risk assessments, and can provide environmental consultancy to help you develop an environmental plan or change working practices.
To learn more about the many services we offer, browse the Training, Consultancy and Video e-Learning menus above. Alternatively, get in touch with us below to discuss your unique requirements, and find out how we can help make your organisation safer.