In April the British Safety Council sponsored 11 students at Cockshut Hill Technology College to write, produce, film and act in a short film drama. The result was a deeply thought provoking film entitled Whose fault is it? which captured the point of view of a group of young people about to embark on work experience.

The film illustrated the theme of shared and individual responsibly for all people in the workplace regardless of their age. Characters in the drama depicted the disparity in workplace health and safety across organisations, unfortunately a very real consequence for many young people.

The Clapperboard Youth Awards 2011 gave young people from schools and community groups across the north of England an opportunity to get together, watch their films and to find out if they had won a special award for their production.

British Safety Council chief executive Julie Nerney gave a special opening presentation to the audience of 450 young people, parents, teachers and VIPs. She highlighted the sobering statistic that during just one day 12 young people will end up in hospital with injuries received at work.

In total 10 films were shown with themes around cyber bullying, racism, drugs and gang crime. Peter Salmon along with celebrities from Coronation Street, Shameless, Hollyoaks, Waterloo Road and new drama, Candy Cabs were on hand to present students with awards that recognised best actor, actress, film, make-up among a host of other talents.  Whose fault is it? received a much deserved Alison Steadman Citizenship Award. Teacher Pete Glasswell received the award on behalf of the students.

Regrettably school activities have been seriously curtailed in recent years by ill-informed and inexpert ‘experts’ who sadly believe that the best way of managing risk is to stop the activity.  Life is about understanding, appreciating and managing risks – we make judgements about risk every moment of our waking life at home, at work, at school and with other everyday activities. School sports and outdoor activities are vital to the development of children – hopefully Lord Young’s reforms will see them once again form a rewarding part of school life and pupil development.        

Neal Stone, head of policy and public affairs at the British Safety Council

An incredibly caring young man, Steven had a large circle of friends who continue to keep his memory alive.  His parents, Barbara and Barney campaign to ensure that other young people like Steven, don’t lose their lives in preventable accidents. 

Watch Barbara’s story below.

Case after reported case highlights the consequence of young people being put at risk of injury in the workplace by a small but worrying minority of irresponsible and incompetent employers.  Exposing your child to the risk of serious injury by letting them go unprepared into the world of work is not part of life’s rich tapestry – ‘an experience that will help them develop and grow’ – but rather sheer lunacy.  Even if you feel that paying a visit to your son or daughter’s new workplace is a step too far you may still want to have that conversation with them to establish what the likely risks are and their perception of how they are managed.  Don’t be afraid to have that discussion about ‘risk’ – you may well find that your son or daughter grasps the significance of risk and how to sensibly manage it far better than you do.  It after all a key component of the school curricula for those over the age of 12.

And do ask your daughter or son if they have had the opportunity to undertake the entry level qualification in health and safety awareness at their school – a qualification the British Safety Council is funding for all 14-19 year olds in full time education in the UK.  The short course leading to this recognised qualification is a powerful tool to help equip young people with the awareness and knowledge that will help keep them safe when they enter the world of work.  We want all schools to make this qualification available and help play their part in eradicating the unacceptable and avoidable injuries blighting our young workers.

We know that every 40 minutes a young person is seriously injured in the workplace. We need you, whether you’re a young person, a teacher, a parent or an employer to understand the risks.

Earlier this month, a 17-year-old fairground worker at Barnard Castle, County Durham was thrown 20ft from the ‘Crazy Frog’ ride. He had fractures to his face and skull and two broken wrists. The Health and Safety Executive are investigating the incident.

And in England news that an engineering firm in Fareham has been fined £2,500 (plus £1000 costs) after a 17-year old trainee was injured after the load from a forklift truck fell on his foot, breaking his ankle.  The manager, who was opearting the forklift at the time did not have adequate training.

An HSE official commented that “adequate planning of the lifting operation and the use of suitable equipment would have avoided this injury to a young trainee.” 

This stories are all too common and they cause a ripple effect. Families and communities also suffer the after effects. Make sure you know the risks.

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“While the figures are undeniable proof that the health and safety framework in Britain is working, even one worker’s death is one too many,” British Safety Council head of policy and public affairs Neal Stone said.

 While welcoming the further reduction, reflecting a general downwards trend for most of the past decade, the leading health and safety charity warned that the HSE figures needed to be viewed in closer detail. Rather than representing a marked improvement in workplace health and safety, the fall might be more of an indication that fewer people were in employment last year, Neal said.

“Many of the people, all of whom leave behind grieving family and friends, represented in the HSE’s workplace fatality figures died from injuries that would not have happened if correct safety procedures were followed and precautions taken,” Neal said.

 “It’s also important to remember that the number of workplace fatalities, shocking though they are, are not the only or even the best measure of good safety in British workplaces. We must never forget the thousands of workers still living with and dying from the legacy of work-related diseases, such as mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos.”

 The existing health and safety framework in the UK could be in line for an overhaul depending on the outcomes of Lord Young of Graffham’s review of health and safety, which was ordered by Prime Minister David Cameron earlier this month.

The British Safety Council, which is conducting a survey of its members in order to inform its response to Lord Young’s invitation for feedback from key stakeholders, welcomed the review – especially if it is successful in stopping people hiding behind “health and safety” as an excuse for all sorts of decisions. 

“If the review leads to improvements to what is already a solid health and safety framework in the UK, that can only be lauded,” Neal said. “But, if it leads to any erosion of the protections workers already have, the British Safety Council will be the first to shout.

 ”The HSE figures out today are a stark reminder that health and safety can be a matter of life or death. While some of the more ridiculous stories you hear attributed to it, like the perennial one about the local authority banning hanging baskets in public places, may raise a snigger, ensuring people are not injured at work is no laughing matter.

“We can only hope the outcomes of Lord Young’s review mean that when the HSE comes to publish its annual statistics next year, no workers have been killed through a negligent disregard to safety.”

-ENDS-

Notes to editors
Statistics from Health and Safety Executive
In each of the last five years, the number of fatal injuries has been:

• 2008/09 – 178 workers died
• 2007/08 – 233 workers died
• 2006/07 – 247workers died
• 2005/06 – 217 workers died
• 2004/05 – 223 workers died

Visit http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/fatals.htm for more information.

Growing up many of you would have been given piggy banks so you could save your pocket money for toys, computer games, clothes etc.  The lesson of “putting a bit aside for a rainy day” so that financially we will be “safe” should the time come that we need it, is something we all learn at an early age.

However, how many of us think about learning how to keep ourselves safe at a young age?  Being taught to cross a road can often be the first and last ‘safety’ information many of us are given.  When you bear in mind that on an average working day 42 young people aged between 16 and 24 are injured at work, you can see why the safety message needs to not stop at crossing a road.

Shaun Davis, Safety, Health, Environment & Quality Director at Rok plc speaking at our Young Worker's Conference

Why are so many young people getting injured? When I think back to my student days when I was working in a local restaurant to make some extra money, I was shown the ropes by another employee and didn’t question what I was told to do as they had been there longer and as they had been given the task of training me, you just assumed they know what to do. Would I have been confident questioning what they were doing if they had been doing something un-safe? Probably not. However, if we can ensure that the young people of today are being given an understanding of safety before they go out into the work place, be it for work experience, part time jobs or their chosen career, hopefully they will have the confidence to question anything that they see that is unsafe and prevent not only themselves from having accidents but also those around them.

A campaign such as “Speak Up, Stay Safe” is really important as it not only raises awareness of the issues facing young people in the work place but also offers them the chance to receive health & safety training before they enter the workplace and gives them the support they need to have the confidence to speak up when they do enter the work place.

Shaun Davis, Safety, Health, Environment & Quality Director at Rok plc

 Our young workers conference was fantastic. We had a huge range of guests attend from all sectors and ask some really thought provoking questions. A big thank you to our panel of speakers who continue to push this issue through their time, expertise and dedication.

Panel from Young Worker's Conference

 The conference and supporting report discusses the sectors that pose the greatest risk to young people in the workplace and highlights initiatives from some of the leading organisations in these sectors and their contribution to young people’s safety. It includes statistics, case studies and an overview of what we’re doing here at the British Safety Council to keep young people safe.

 As Mick Murphy, father of Lewis, says in his report: “I will keep fighting until I am satisfied that health and safety at work is no longer something that a parents needs to be worried about for their child. If I can help save just one young person’s life then it is worth it”.

The full report from the conference  is now available to download here>>

We’ve been getting some great feedback from other organisations far and wide. And there seems to be a commonality in the requests. Resources. How can we get the message across to young people? What else can we do and what materials are available. Please keep your questions and requests coming. We are compiling them and will use them to inform our future campaign and policy. A big thank you to the National Youth Agency for putting us on their front page!

 If you haven’t already, please do pass our animations on to your contacts. It really does make a difference.

Download a poster for young people>>

The Speak Up, Stay Safe viral campaign launched by the British Safety Council earlier this month has already received the backing of the biggest health and safety and children’s welfare organisations.

Most of the coverage of the campaign online and in the print media, and the use of cartoon imagery which shows a giraffe, dog and rabbit having nasty accidents in the workplace, has been very positive, although the short films have received some criticism from bloggers on a parenting site.

But the campaign and the films are being backed by, among others, The Children’s Society, YouthNet, Public Concern at Work, Child Safety Education Coalition and the Health and Safety Executive, as well as parents of young people killed in the workplace.
 
 Mick Murphy, father of Lewis Murphy, 18, who died in a fireball at a garage where he worked in East Sussex, attended the launch of the campaign with his wife Elizabeth and approved of the use of the films to promote serious messages.

 “The point of using cartoon characters is to get young people talking about them and alerting their friends and colleagues and to start discussing the serious points behind the imagery,” he said. “Putting out stodgy public information messages just wouldn’t appeal to most youngsters. The films are deliberately satirical to make people sit up and take notice and to create a debate, and they appear to be doing just that.

 “Young people need to be made aware of their rights and who to call if they are worried about health and safety standards at work before they are put at risk of injury or death. The British Safety Council campaign is a great way to get a serious message across in an ironical or fun way that young people will share. The campaign also features a number of serious interviews on the Speak Up, Stay Safe YouTube site with parents who have lost their children to workplace accidents, young workers, teachers and employers.

  “Every 40 minutes a young person is seriously injured in the workplace – 3,200 16-19 year olds in 2009 – and 66 under 19s have died in the past ten years. All of these deaths and injuries were avoidable if health and safety procedures had been followed. This is simply unacceptable. We want to empower young people to speak up if they feel unsafe. If a viral campaign used in conjunction with cases such as my son’s story can make a difference, then I am all for it.”

They run a free helpline for employees who might be concerned about work practices. But they don’t promote going down the legal route, more the helpline works as a mediation service – finding the best way for employees and employers to work together and support a better working culture.

So how do young people fit in? Well the same principle applies. Young people can ring the helpline for free and get advice about the best way to address their individual situation. It’s another route for them to “speak up and stay safe”.  That’s what we’re trying to do here at the British Safety Council – provide as many ways for young people to get the support that they need.

Shonali Routray from Public Concern at Work says: “We’re proud to support the Speak Up, Stay Safe campaign giving young people the right start by showing them it is safe  and acceptable to speak up. Through our helpline we advise individuals who find themselves in a whistleblowing dilemma as it can sometimes be tricky to know what to do.  If you find yourself in this position, it is important to keep calm and seek advice. You can talk to your teacher, parents  or us. You can reach us at  on 0207 404 6609 or email helpline@pcaw.co.uk.”