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In a move which gives the Health and Safety At Work Act a slap in the face, and perhaps gives the clearest indication of what is coming next for the Act, it seems that the DWP now believe that a business board member is also an employee of the same company!
Hazards asked DWP and HSE if anyone else had been appointed to an employee interests seat on the HSE board. The answer? “Susan Johnson.” Hazards website article explains further: "It was news that shocked the TUC. “She is not from any trade union, she is not a health and safety activist or a safety representative, she was not nominated by any union body,” TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson confirmed. “In fact Susan Johnson is a former senior manager and businesswoman. Last year she retired from her job as chief executive of the Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service. Before that she was chief executive of Northern Business Forum, and an ex-director of the food company Greggs.” He said “there is not anything in her past that remotely qualifies her to speak for workers, yet here she is sitting on the HSE board representing employee interests. How on earth could that happen?” The HSE board was set up under the Health and Safety at Work Act and has always had three employee seats and three employer seats.
And in the UK, that means the TUC “and the government has always accepted that.” A DWP spokesperson confirmed to Hazards that Susan Johnson was selected by Damian Green as “an employee representative”. But she added: “The HSE Board appointments were advertised widely, including to organisations representing employees as required by the Health and Safety at Work Act. We are satisfied that all of the new members bring a strong range of skills and experience to the HSE Board, and the ability to develop further once in post is a key consideration in the appointment process.” The TUC, however, says not only was it not consulted, it was not aware the employee interests seat was up for grabs. “What is even more bizarre is that the TUC was not given the opportunity to even suggest candidates for this seat because it was never advertised,” said Robertson. Two seats were advertised, but then TUC nominee on the board Paul Kenny, until earlier this year general secretary of the GMB union, revealed he would be standing down on 30 September 2016. Robertson is adamant. Kenny's employee interests post was not advertised, TUC was not consulted and retired employer Susan Johnson was appointed by DWP without TUC having any opportunity to put forward the name of a someone with relevant experience for the seat. Robertson told Hazards: “This seems a complete breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act, but it is more than just the government breaking the law, they are attacking the very principles on which the Act was built, which are cooperation and social partnership.” There had been warning signs; DWP had bypassed TUC on an earlier employee interests board position.
The Hazard article continues with further facts and analysis of what this means for worker representation on the HGSE Board, how it is detrimental to workers health & safety; and can be read here In the meantime, The Hazards Campaign is reminding the Conservative government that workers need a voice on safety and deserve proper protection. Click the pic and send the PM your postcard! Source: Hazards / DWP |
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On 2 September 2016, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) secretary of state Damian Green announced six new or reappointed Health and Safety Executive (HSE) board members, but, only one, TUC head of organising Kevin Rowan, was a TUC nominee. Of the others named none were candidates to represent ‘employee interests’. 
“The Act is very clear,” noted Robertson. “It states that the secretary of state can only make appointments to those three seats after consulting ‘such organisations representing employees as he considers appropriate’.”