Checks on hand car wash operators are to be carried out across Mid Suffolk, to make sure that they comply with health and safety legislation

The joint operation is being carried out across the East of England, by local councils in Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, in partnership with the Heath and Safety Executive (HSE), and will run through until December.

Previous experience suggests that many migrant workers are employed in the hand car wash sector, so the visits will assess and if necessary improve the health, safety and welfare standards for migrant workers on these premises.

Ian Ferguson, Principal Environmental Health Officer, said: “Mid Suffolk District Council fully endorses this campaign and will be participating in it, along with other local authorities, during the month of November.   Officers from our Environmental Health Department will be joining their counterparts from the HSE in visiting all the hand carwash businesses within the district.” 

HSE manager for the East, Andrew Saunders said: “There’s been a huge increase in the number of this type of business operating in the region, often employing potentially vulnerable workers. It’s very important they know and understand their rights, and are properly protected in the workplace.”

Officers will be targeting premises in Essex during October, Suffolk in October and November, and Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire in November and December.

Visits will also concentrate on the risks to employees from electrical safety, slips and trips, manual handling, dermatitis and will also raise awareness and check compliance with the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969.  Officers will also be checking that risks to the public from these activities are adequately managed.

-ENDS-

 
Media contact: Vicky Smy, Senior Communications Officer, telephone: 01449 724850, email: vicky.smy@midsuffolk.gov.uk
 
Notes to editor:

1. Health and safety enforcement is split between HSE Inspectors and local authority Environmental Health Officers, depending on the main activity at the premises.  For this project, flexible warrants are being used which allows local authority Officers to visit HSE enforced premises and vice versa.

2. Employers’ Liability Compulsory Insurance enables employers to meet the cost of compensation for employees’ injuries or illnesses whether they are caused on or off site.  Most employers are required by law to have this insurance.