Hear lawyer Simon Joyston-Bechal discuss returning to work in times of COVID-19. Simon shares how far you can push the boundaries to get people back into the office lawfully, whether lateral flow tests will help, details around vaccines and how far you have to go in terms of social distancing. Listen, on-demand, in full to the Barbour EHS Legislation updated webinar, here.

Then we talk to Hilda Palmer, who was recently named SHP’s Most Influential Individual in health & safety. Hilda has over 30 years’ experience in health & safety and works for Greater Manchester Hazard Centre. In December SHP readers recognised her work as a campaigner, supporting families who find themselves on the wrong side of health and safety failure. Hilda shares her views on the health & safety system in the UK, the importance of protecting workers as they return to the office and talks about her work with Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK).

Finally, we take a look at the role of smart PPE in protecting lone workers with some clips from a recent roundtable, hosted by SHP. Lone and at-risk workers represent a large proportion of the UK’s workforce – a trend that has been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic as social distancing measures have been introduced, shift patterns have changed and an increased number of people work in isolation. The clips look at how businesses have had to adapt through lockdown restrictions, the challenges organisations have when it comes to keeping staff safe beyond their shift, the importance of embedding smart PPE into the culture of an organisation and the role of technology in health & Safety in the future.

With thanks to our episode sponsor, Peoplesafe.

Additional resources:   

Read more about the SHP Awards.

Read Hilda’s ‘Whole Story’ article on SHP from 2008.

Read more on the Hazards Campaign.

Follow Hilda on Twitter.

Learn more about Barbour EHS.

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Check out the previous Nine episodes of the Safety & health Podcast.

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