Next week the government is intending to push through legislation which will remove the cover which self-employed people have always received over the last 40 years since the passing of the Health & Safety at Work Act. Section 3 of this act currently places a duty on all employers and self-employed people to ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety of others. The government is now proposing to change this to:
It shall be the duty of every self-employed person who conducts an undertaking of a prescribed description to conduct the undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that he and other persons who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health and safety”.
The World has watched and cheered to the rafters the human drama unfolding in Chile. That thirty three miners could be trapped underground for two months, survive and be winched to the surface in a capsule that looked as though it was once used in Star Trek is an extraordinary and joyous thing. To watch the faces of the families, of the rescuers, of the ordinary Chileans has been to experience something refreshing for a change – the victory of hope over despair. But there’s another story. 