Nazareth Care Charitable Trust which operates a care home in Bonnyrigg, Scotland, recently received a fine after a resident at one of its care homes suffered a fatal injury after falling down a flight of stairs.
Nazareth Care Charitable Trust which operates a care home in Bonnyrigg, Scotland, recently received a fine after a resident at one of its care homes suffered a fatal injury after falling down a flight of stairs.
On 16 May 2017, 87 year old Shelia Whitehead, a resident at the care home fell down a flight of stairs. She suffered a fractured skull and subdural haemorrhage and later died from her injuries.
The Health and Safety Executive undertook an investigation and found that there was a failure to implement adequate measures to control the risk of residents falling down the stairs. The Health and Safety Executive also found there was a lack of an effective physical barrier by the stairs.
The Trust pleaded guilty to section 33 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Sheriff Thomas Welsh QC imposed a fine of £40,000 for the serious health and safety breach.
The family are disappointed at the low level of the fine imposed and have queried why a charitable trust operating care homes should be held to a different standard to private companies (where a higher fine might be imposed).
Undertaking thorough risk assessments and putting in place effective preventative measures are the best ways for care homes to ensure that health and safety obligations are not breached and, as far as is practicably possible, residents are protected from injuries.
It is recommended that regular internal health and safety assessments are undertaken by the operators of care homes so that the right measures can be put in place to ensure residents safety.
Logistics company Eddie Stobart has been fined £133,000, after a series of failures which took place whilst excavation work was carried out, exposing its staff to asbestos.
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The Digital Services Act (the “DSA”) has today (27 October) been given the go-ahead by the EU Council and will enter into force by early 2024.
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Created at the end of the Brexit transition period, Retained EU Law is a category of domestic law that consists of EU-derived legislation retained in our domestic legal framework by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. This was never intended to be a permanent arrangement as parliament promised to deal with retained EU law through the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (the “Bill”).
The majority of people do not feel the need to embellish their CV to get that coveted position and move on up the career ladder. Their worthiness and benefit to the hiring organisation are easily demonstrated through the recruitment process – application, psychometric testing, selection day or interview.
As a result of a recent Charity Commission legal action, the former trustee of a Welsh charity was ordered to pay over £117,000 to Wrexham charities which support cancer patients.
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Universities and colleges are not immune from deception by unscrupulous bad actors. The extent to which educational institutions can manage and control risk not only depends on financial management and internal controls, but also the robustness of security and processes which can be exploited from outside the organisation.
This article is the first in a series aimed to help firms get to grips on a practical basis with the ‘cross-cutting rules’ within the new ‘Consumer Duty’ framework.
The Government has announced a change to the categorisation of “small” businesses to reduce the amount of regulatory compliance (or “red tape”) required. Currently, SMEs (those with fewer than 250 employees) are exempt from certain regulations – such as the obligation to comply with gender pay reporting. With effect from 3 October, these exemptions will be widened to apply to businesses with fewer than 500 employees.
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Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards was due to transition to Liberty Protection Safeguards in October 2020 but delayed due to the pandemic. While the public consultation has now closed and we’re still unclear of what the final legislation and code will look like, it’s worth noting and keeping a watching brief.
The use of social media platforms and applications can have overwhelmingly positive benefits for public bodies. However, regulatory action recently taken by the Information Commissioner, has highlighted various pitfalls that public bodies should seek to avoid if allowing staff to use social media as a communication tool.
Whilst the weather conditions are predicted to be cooling down this week, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is asking employers and businesses to consider adapting to recurrent warmer weather conditions for the safety and benefit of their staff. It asks employers to ensure that extreme heat becomes a firm part of longer term risk management. Climate change in any event is something all businesses will need to consider as the warmer weather becomes more frequent - extreme heat is something that will impact employers on a day to day basis.
Our immediate future shows a renewed focus on foster care. We’re going to see a new nationwide-drive to recruit foster carers and the implementation of a more robust, and potentially financially-generous system for encouraging friends and family to care for their relatives (both when extended families cannot cope or provide care for any reason).
When carrying out a mix of activities it can be less clear if it is 'economic'. We look at the impact on local authorities & charities.
In this session, our speakers discussed the Fitness to Practise Regime and how we can help.
In this month’s decision of CJ & Ors v Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police the court was given the task of considering whether a sexual abuse action, brought under the Human Rights Act 1998 should be allowed to proceed to trial where the claim had been brought outside the one-year period prescribed by the Act.
Recent reports of flat roofs constructed using RAAC planks collapsing without warning prompted the SCOSS alert.
This summer saw the publication of a report describing itself as a ‘once in a generation’ opportunity to reset children social care. Based on the current trajectory, the report concluded that 100,000 children would be held in care in the next decade.
The Building Safety Act 2022 received Royal Assent on 28 April 2022 (“Act”). The government has described the reforms introduced by the Act as “the biggest changes to building safety regulation in a generation”. For once the hype is justified.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has released a report setting out the impact of new and changing regulations arising from the pandemic on small businesses across the UK.
We have created a summary of the recommendations and consistent themes which we are now starting to see becoming more embedded in public sector procurement practices.
Today, (Thursday 16 June) 18 trainee lawyers from Browne Jacobson began the second of three planned “going green” fundraising challenges which focus on driving positive change to the environment and will raise essential funds for the firm’s charity partners.
As has been widely reported this week, some 3,000 UK workers are taking part in a six month trial to assess the viability of a four-day working week without any reduction in their normal pay.
On Saturday 14th May, 17 Browne Jacobson trainees walked 24 miles around the three highest peaks in the Yorkshire Dales to raise money for our five office charities.
Public sector and private sector organisations, particularly those who meet the £36 million threshold, are encouraged to review their approach to combating modern slavery in their organisation and its supply chains before the Modern Slavery Bill becomes law.
