Health & Safety
What 50 years of health and safety can teach us about events
To commemorate 50 years since the introduction of the UK Health & Safety at Work Act , Josh Taylor , health & safety manager at the Event Supplier and Services Association ( ESSA ), reflects on the positive changes to the events industry since its inception – but also what still needs to happen
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D legislation in the UK dating back to the 17th century , it still feels slightly surreal that we have only had enforceable health and safety regulations across all workplaces since 1974 with the introduction of The Health & Safety at Work Act .
Designed to place a legal obligation on employers to provide a safe working environment alongside relevant information and supervision , the Act paved the way for how we enforce health and safety across numerous industries today , with the events industry being no exception .
As 2024 marks the Act ’ s 50th anniversary , it ’ s apparent a lot has changed since then . A lot of that change has been good – really good in fact . Occupational Safety & Health records have dramatically improved over the past 50 years , with fatal workplace injuries falling 88 % between 1974 and 2019 / 20 , with similar reductions in nonworkplace injuries , too .
Below : International Confex London
While the changing nature of the UK workforce over the past 50 years has played a significant role in workplace injuries falling , improvements to health and safety standards cannot be underestimated in helping achieve this .
Investing in safety The changes put in place ensured employers began investing in safety measures and paved the way for many standard practices we take for granted today , such as risk assessments and even the development of job roles specifically designed to ensure health and safety is enforced and monitored within businesses .
Yet different industries pose different health and safety challenges , with the events industry posing far more challenging obstacles to overcome than say , your typical office job .
Event-specific rules and regulations , such as the need for a construction phase plan and an event safety plan , ensure more strict rules to follow , which is understandable due to the greater risk of working on events , particularly during build-up and breakdown .
The language of health and safety All the above doesn ’ t mean the Health and Safety Act is without its problems – problems that we still face within the events industry today .
We know that the rules and regulations in place since the introduction of the Act are to help ensure the health and safety of staff – yet we still have a way to go in ensuring all parties involved in events are aware of WHY this is .
Too often I hear stories from event professionals about their experiences with organisers and the like , with some questioning the need and importance for certain things , be it a risk assessment or the need to wear
14 Issue 4 2024 www . exhibitionworld . co . uk