The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) have announced a national inspection campaign for farms across England, Scotland and Wales that focuses on challenging the attitudes of British farmers when it comes to safety. Here, we look at the campaign in more detail.
What is the HSE National Inspection Campaign?
Last month, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) announced a national inspection campaign for farms across England, Scotland and Wales, with plans to continue these inspections until April 2024. As we know all too well, the farming industry is fraught with risks, with HSE reports continuously showing just how high the number of fatalities and injuries the agricultural industry experiences every year.
This campaign focuses on challenging the somewhat negative attitude towards safety amongst British farmers and looks to address the main causes of the disturbingly high number of deaths and serious injuries that occur within the farming industry. The HSE reported that there have been 161 deaths on Britain’s farms over the last five years; an average of 26 people each year, which not only included those working on the farms but also members of the public and children.
The main causes of death in farming includes being crushed or trampled by animals, falling from heights and coming into contact with machinery during both operation and maintenance.
How can farmers prepare for these HSE inspections?
Ahead of any inspection, businesses need to make sure their Health and Safety records are up-to-date and compliant. To help clients prepare, Home Safely, an online tool that is free to use and can support Rural Protect policyholders, aims to help farmers become more aware of, and help mitigate, their business’s risks. Whilst it’s not a full Health and Safety audit, it will prompt clients to think about the activities they undertake and consider the policies and procedures they should have around those, to demonstrate to the Regulator that Health and Safety is high on their agenda.
Taking the time to check health and safety records could also lead farmers to make their business premises a safer place to work, leaving them secure in the knowledge that they, their family and their business are protected. And, with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) charging £166 per hour for any interventions they have to make when inspecting a business, it is also financially risk averse. Rural Protect customers have the added protection of cover for Fee For Intervention (FFI) for this eventuality, but prevention is always better than cure, so let’s help farmers avoid non-compliance in the first place, and better still, prevent an accident from occurring.
According to Rural Protect’s legal representatives, rradar, the HSE inspections may also focus on other health hazards associated with farm environments, including inhaling dust, load handling, noise or vibration from farm machinery, exposure to chemicals and working with animals. Read more from rradar, here.
Rural Protect for Farmers
Rural Protect seeks to help farmers and business owners in the rural sector by way of specialist liability insurance that covers a range of businesses, whether they be limited companies, partnerships, or sole traders. Working with rradar, a specialist litigation and commercial law firm, Rural Protect policyholders are provided with legal expertise and digital tools that educate, manage, and advise on ways to reduce legal risks. It is there to support farmers should they need to defend or take legal action and can protect them from the costs of UK regulator investigation and prosecution.
A Rural Protect Management Liability policy should really be considered by rural businesses as part of their insurance portfolio, no matter the size, complexity, or structure of the company, it can provide invaluable cover.
If your client falls within the rural sector and our wide range of accepted trades, ensure they know about Rural Protect and the benefits it can bring.
If you want to know more about Rural Protect or would like to talk to us about how we can help you help your rural clients, please contact us on 01653 609090 or at enquiries@hbunderwriting.co.uk.
