For my UK-based followers worried they might be forced back to work, as a health and safety worker, let me present to you what I'm tentatively calling "The Rights Under Various Pieces of Legislation you Might Not Know you Have: A Thread" 1/?

The company I work for operates some sites in fairly high-risk environments, so the first thing we make sure our staff know is that section 44 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 allows then to remove themselves from a dangerous workplace with no repercussions or recriminations 2/?

I'd suggest you do this if needed, not just during any return to work after this lockdown, but at any time you see something that puts your health and safety at risk. You come to work expecting to go home at the end of the day safe and well, so don't compromise that 3/?

The next is that you must be made aware of the risks you face as part of your job, and how your employer is controlling them. Creatively enough, this assessment of risks is called a risk assessment and is part of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 4/?

There won't be a company in the land that isn't impacted by Covid-19, so there should be lots of risk assessments either being reviewed recently, now, or soon. I know it's been a huge part of our work lately! If you aren't told what new risks have been identified and what new 5/?

controls implemented, ask. If you employer won't tell you, they're breaking the law. Either they aren't giving you information required by Regulation 10 of the Management Regs, or they haven't met their duties under Regulation 3 of the same. Whichever it is, it's not good 6/?

As a minimum, and not giving away any trade secrets here, I'd expect (and have added to our risk assessments) social distancing, clearly marked in areas where staff are expected to congregate (canteens, around watercoolers, near printers), use of PPE (masks) where distancing 7/?

can't be maintained, and increased frequency of cleaning, both by actual cleaners and the availability of wipes and other products to disinfect machinery between users. It's simple stuff, which will cost money but what price a life? (As little as £48k, as per a recent case) 8/?

Oh, and that PPE? Employers have to provide it if it's needed, not you. That's part of the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992. Just bear in mind that PPE is the last line of defence and depending on what other controls are in place it may not be needed 9/?

There are a lot of other things specific to different industries, but what I've mentioned already will be the biggies. Essentially, I'd want to know what my employer has done and will do to keep me safe, and if they can't say, I'd be refusing to work until they can 10/?

Now I'm not saying we can hold out for full respirators with their own air lines before returning to work, that's unrealistic. A recurring phrase in H&S law is "as far as reasonably practicable", which basically means doing as much as can be done, without excessive cost. 11/?

Masks and gloves won't be an excessive cost though, so even if other methods of control such as distancing or continuing to work from home aren't practicable, providing PPE most certainly will be. If they can't provide it, we're back to Section 44: don't work until they can 12/13

And that's where I'm stopping for now. Despite what you might hear about "Health and Safety Gone Mad!", the laws are there to protect workers from unscrupulous employers, and you should use them to do that whenever you can

/Thread