All businesses must comply with health and safety legislation. The Health and Safety Act and the many Regulations made under it place a range of requirements on employers.

In general as an employer you must:

• Make the workplace safe and without risk to health
• Ensure plant and machinery are safe and that safe systems of work are in place and adhered to
• Ensure articles and substances are safely stored, moved and used
• Provide adequate welfare facilities
• Provide employees with adequate training and information regarding health and safety

More specifically employers must asses all health and safety risks.

UKFT members are able to access the services of UKFT’s own Health, Safety & Risk Management Consultant to help meet all these obligations.

UKFT provides simple and clear guidance, along with cost-conscious solutions tailor-made to individual members including:

• Simple practical H&S policies, procedures or manuals
• One-off safety & environmental ‘health – check’ reviews
• H&S risk assessments (including Noise, Dust & Fumes, Handling & COSHH)
• Fire risk assessment
• Occupational Health advice
• Focused management / employee training
• Incident investigation

UKFT has joined the National Footwear Leather and Textile Health & Safety Working Group, which is led by the British Footwear Association (BFA) and Leather UK. The group will share the latest health and safety guidance and best practice for our industry and is currently working to help businesses prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Some of the latest updates include:

• The role of textiles as fomites in the healthcare environment: a review of the infection control risk
• Ventilation and air conditioning during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
• UK REACH explained
• Food Safety and Hygiene

There is also a National FLT-H&S Working Group WhatsApp Group.

Contact martin.jenkins@ukft.org for details.