ProAktive News

“Work alone is noble.” But is it safe?

27th September 2018

Many employees often find themselves the only one left in the office at the end of a busy day or driving to see a customer alone. If this situation sounds familiar it is likely that your employees are lone working. If your employees work alone you are required to consider, and then deal with, any health and safety risks that this exposes them to.

It will often be safe to work alone. However, the law requires employers to think about and deal with any health and safety risks before people are allowed to do so.

Things you could consider to help ensure lone workers are not put at risk include:

assessing areas of risk including violence, manual handling, the medical suitability of the individual to work alone and whether the workplace itself presents a risk to them
requirements for training, levels of experience and how best to monitor and supervise them
making sure you know what is happening, including having systems in place to keep in touch with them

What types of job might require people to work alone?

Working alone in a small workshop, petrol station, kiosk or shop
People working on their own outside normal hours, e.g. cleaners and security, maintenance or repair staff
Agricultural workers
Service workers, including postal staff, social and medical workers, engineers, estate agents, and sales or service representatives visiting domestic and commercial premises
Driving on company business

So what should you be doing?

Employers have a duty to assess risks to lone workers and take steps to avoid or control risks where necessary. This must include:

Involving workers when considering potential risks and measures to control them. Many companies trust their employees and don’t want to appear as though they are checking up on them, however, if something happened how would you know?
Taking steps to ensure risks are removed where possible, or putting in place control measures, e.g. carefully selecting work equipment to ensure the worker is able to perform the required tasks safely.
Instruction, training and supervision. It is important that all employees understand the procedures in place for lone working that have been designed to keep them safe. For example, calling to check in every so often or locking the office door when staying late.
Reviewing risk assessments periodically or when there has been a significant change in working practice.
Being aware that some tasks may be too difficult or dangerous to be carried out by an unaccompanied worker, for example, working in confined spaces.
Where a lone worker is working at another employer’s workplace, assessing the additional risks involved and making sure your employee will be safe in that situation. For example, social workers or an engineer visiting a person’s home.
When a risk assessment shows it is not possible for the work to be conducted safely by a lone worker, addressing that risk by making arrangements to provide help or back-up. Risk assessment should help employers decide on the right level of supervision.

What happens if a person becomes ill, has an accident, or there is an emergency?

Your assessment of the risks should identify foreseeable events. Emergency procedures should be established and employees trained in them. For example, it may be decided that mobile workers should carry mobile phones, personal alarms or first-aid kits.

If you’re concerned about your lone workers and need some advice, contact ProAktive on 01302 341 344.

By Rachel Cuff CMIOSH – Risk Consultant

Motor Claims Made Easy

25th September 2018

Did you know that the longer it takes to notify a claim to your insurers, the higher the cost of that claim?

At ProAktive, we recognise the implications of late notification on the premiums you pay and have therefore launched our very own motor claims app. The app enables drivers to collect crucial information at the scene of an accident and notify us and you of the incident immediately.

This will not only have a direct impact on the cost of your claims but it will make the claims process easier and smoother, giving your drivers a guide in a moment of potential uncertainty and stress.

The cost of fault claims can quickly escalate, this is illustrated in the table below, which is based on statistics provided by Allianz Insurance.

Day claim was notified	Third party vehicle repair cost	Third party hire charges	Third party personal injury	Total claim cost
Day 1	£1,500	£500	£3,000	£5,000
Day 5	£1,800	£1,700	£4,000	£7,500
Day 15	£2,600	£2,400	£6,500	£11,500
Day 30	£4,000	£7,500	£8,500	£20,000

The cost of these claims has a direct impact on your premiums. You can see from the above, that even if you only have a couple of fault claims a year, the cost could exceed £40,000 for relatively small incidents.

Our App will reduce paperwork and reduce the time that you spend on completing lengthy forms.

The advantages are:

No need for claim forms
Easy app-driven process for drivers
Faster incident reporting to ProAktive
Captures third party information
Records police & witness information
Accurate GPS, date and time automatically uploaded
Assists with reducing third party injury claims
Photographs can be easily uploaded to capture crucial evidence
Reduces the cost of third party hire charges
Recording information at the scene can prove more powerful when defending claims
No more old fashioned cab packs

Following the incident a full pdf report is emailed to the ProAktive Claims Team, who will then liaise with you regarding the reporting of the incident to insurers. We appreciate not all accidents involve a third party or require your insurers involvement, and therefore, we will always agree with you the appropriate course of action before speaking with insurers. The reports do not automatically submit to insurers meaning that you still control the process.

The app is easy to download and is compatible with both Android and iPhones. We can provide full training on the app to both you and your drivers.

For help in reducing your claims costs, please get in touch with your ProAktive contact who will be happy to arrange a demonstration.

Don’t ignore a claim – the sooner an accident is reported, the lower the claim costs, the better the result!

By Leah Kendall – Account Executive

Sub-contractor or Employee? An insurance perspective

18th September 2018

Most construction work these days is completed via the use of sub-contractors. One reason for this is that it is not economical to have permanent staff and so workers are brought in on a temporary basis when required for a job. It could also be specific specialism is required and so a specialist contractor would be brought in. The main question to ask is, would a standard liability policy pick this up? The simple answer is no. When considering the use of sub-contractors, you also need to consider what type of contractors they are; bona fide or labour only. If you don’t correctly disclose them to your insurer you could end up having to pay a much larger premium or worse still, find yourself not covered for a claim.

It is important at the onset to work out and disclose what type of contractor you are using.

A labour only sub-contractor is classed as an employee by insurers because they don’t provide their own tools or materials, work under the direction of the main contractor and don’t carry their own insurance. Insurers include labour only sub-contractors under the Employer’s Liability and Public liability sections and charge the same premium as an employee.

Alternatively, a bona fide sub-contractor normally works under their own direction, brings their own tools and materials and more importantly carries their own insurance. Due to this, insurers do not class them as employees and provide cover under the Public Liability section only. Insurers charge a lower premium for the work carried out by the bona fide sub-contractors on the understanding that any claim caused by the sub-contractor would be passed back to them.

Consequently most liability policies include a condition that any bona fide sub-contractor must carry the same insurance cover as the main contractor. If their insurance does not meet this condition then you may be responsible for any gap in cover and insurers may not pick it up.

In order to comply with a sub-contractor condition you not only have to check that a policy is in force but that it is also adequate for the type of work that is taking place.

There are a number of common problems related to this including:

The sub-contractor is undertaking an activity not disclosed to their insurer
Their insurance policy excludes specific high-risk environments
Their limits of indemnity are too low
Claims cost exclusions or limitations may apply – e.g. when working at depth
Their policy has lapsed
They have breached policy conditions resulting in no cover (such as work at height or depth which fall outside policy wording thresholds or failure to comply with specific methods of work such as ‘hot work’ conditions).

Should any of these situations happen and a claim occurs due to the negligence of the sub-contractor, the insurers may not deal with the claim and effectively leave you uninsured.

Should any of these issues affect you or you are looking for help or advice when using sub-contractors and the covers required, contact ProAktive on 01302 341 344 or 0114 243 9914.

By Peter Ryder – Account Executive ACII, Chartered Insurance Broker

Employment Tribunals – A Brief Guide

10th September 2018

This year has seen a huge increase in the number of employment tribunals (with a two fold increase in claims per quarter). The driver of this is likely to be the abolishment of tribunal fees in July 2017, following a successful case brought by Unite, questioning the legality of the government’s introduction of fees in July 2013.

As employees can now pursue a case to tribunal by following a prescribed process but without having to pay a fee, employees are pursuing employment cases more readily, therefore increasing the risks associated with managing employee issues.

Detailed below is some information about the tribunal system and what happens if an employee brings a claim against their employer:

Time Limits

There is a time limit of three months (unless exceptional circumstances) for an employee to bring a claim against their employer. This date relates to either the date of dismissal, or for unlawful deduction of wages claims, the date the alleged incorrect payment / deduction was made.

How does an employee bring a claim?

An employee must first contact ACAS to notify them of their intention to bring a claim. At this point they complete an ET1 form and submit this to the Central Office of Employment Tribunals. Before it becomes a tribunal claim, it enters an ‘early conciliation phase’ to see if ACAS can facilitate agreement or settlement before it is submitted as a case.

Early Conciliation

The first notification that an employer usually receives is contact from ACAS to advise that there is a claim and whether they wish to engage in early claim conciliation. Once early conciliation has started the clock is stopped in terms of the above time limit.

During this period, you have a chance you discuss the issues with ACAS and to put across your version of events and both the employee and employer can put forward a solution, usually an amount they are willing to accept or offer in order to settle the issue before it reaches a court.

If both parties agree to a solution then ACAS will issue a COT3 form (ACAS settlement agreement), which is a legally binding enforceable contract which closes the matter.

If parties fail to come to agreement ACAS will issues an early conciliation certificate and the time limit restarts and an Employment tribunal claim can be brought.

Please note that if you have insurance, you should always advise your insurer at the point you receive ACAS contact.

Responding to a claim

If the employee makes a claim to the tribunal within the time limit, then you will receive a copy of the claim and should make your response on an ET3 form. This form will become a summary of your defence case so is an important document to consider. If you receive advice or have insurance in place, it is important to involve those interested parties at this stage.

Awards and Penalties

In April 2018 the basic award limits were increased in line with inflation increasing the maximum award for unfair dismissal to £83,682 (or an employee’s annual salary)

There are no maximum limits when it comes to a discrimination claim, with the maximum award so far being £1,762,130 with the average award for a discrimination claim sitting at around £25,000.

Employment tribunals are also able to impose penalties on top of any awards where there are ‘aggravating features’ to the breach, usually this is where they find that the employer has acted with malice. This penalty will normally be 50% of the award, up to a maximum of £5,000.

Defending a claim

If you are a ProAktive client it is important to include us as soon as possible in the process. We have a dedicated team of claims handlers, employment consultants and insurance experts to help you through the process. It is also important to gather any documentation and evidence which will help to support your defence and work with your respective legal team.

Preventing an Employment Tribunal

Ultimately the ideal scenario is never to have an employment claim issued against you. Although you can never control the actions of your employees, there are some steps you can take to reduce the risk.

Firstly, make sure you have documented processes and procedures in place, both in the Contract of Employment and Employee Handbook and more importantly follow them.

For ProAktive employment clients your consultant will work with you to create bespoke documentation for your business as well as provide telephone support and advice. That leads to our second point, give us a ring!

Telephone support and advice is included in the service therefore we have a team of consultants who are able to talk you through any employment issues or queries you have within your business.

Finally, tackle the issues. Many employment tribunals could be prevented by tackling internal HR issues head on and before they escalate. Rather than let an employee become a ‘problem employee’ tackle their performance, put good probation or review practices in place and make sure managers and supervisors are trained in how to implement your HR policies.

To talk to our HR Consultancy Team about how we can help you tackle the HR issues within your business, contact us on 01302 341 344.

By Kris Kerins BSc (Hons) PGC (Tech Mgmt) – Risk Services Adviser

Are your risk assessments up to the job?

4th September 2018

Are your machinery risk assessments adequate? Failure to carry out suitable and sufficient risk assessment can place your employees at risk of harm and leave your company vulnerable to prosecution.

Risk assessments are a legal requirement introduced by the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations. As well as being a legal requirement they are an essential tool to ensure the safety of your employees.

Risk assessment is nothing more than a careful look at what could cause harm and what needs to be done to prevent harm. The Health and Safety Executive has sought to simplify the risk assessment process by breaking it down into 5 steps:

Identify the hazards – what could go wrong?
Who might be harmed and how?
Evaluate the risk – What is the possibility of harm being done, what controls are in place and do you need to do more?
Record your findings – You only need to make brief records of your significant findings.
Review the risk assessment periodically or in the light of significant changes.

The 5 steps above should be followed but we also need to consider other legislation that will apply, for instance the, Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) which requires that equipment provided for use at work is:

Suitable for the intended use
Safe for use, maintained in a safe condition and inspected to ensure it is correctly installed and does not subsequently deteriorate.
Used only by people who have received adequate information, instruction and training
Accompanied by suitable health and safety measures, such as protective devices and controls. These will normally include emergency stop devices; suitable guarding that prevents access to dangerous parts of machinery, adequate means of isolation from sources of energy, clearly visible markings and warning devices.

There is also other legislation that may apply for instance:

Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations.
The Pressure System Safety Regulations.
Display screen equipment.

While this may sound complicated, it need not be. Carefully considering what could go wrong while applying the requirements of PUWER (and other relevant legislation) should enable the completion of a machinery risk assessment.

Carrying out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment proactively will protect your employees from harm. It should reduce machinery downtime – due to remedial changes having to be made following an accident – and save the costs associated with accidents in the workplace. Overall this should make you more productive and should save you money.

If you would like help with your risk assessments, contact our team today on 01302 341 344.

By Ainslie Johnson GradIOSH – Risk Consultant

Private Client: Laser drilled & filled diamonds

30th August 2018

I recently read a comment on Linkedin from one of my connections which piqued my interest. It was from a jewellery valuer who had been asked to re-value a pair of diamond stud earrings for insurance purposes. On closer inspection he discovered the diamonds had been laser drilled and filled to enhance the quality without the knowledge of the owner.

What is laser drilling?

It’s a process using a laser to drill tiny holes (thinner than a strand of hair) in the stone, all the way from its surface to an inclusion inside. This channel is then used to remove the inclusion by either melting it with heat or dissolving it with acid. This process is used to improve the clarity of the diamond, quite often by one grade, however it comes with a warning.

By laser drilling holes into a diamond, the structure of the diamond is weakened and if numerous holes have been drilled this not only leaves channels but also an empty space where the inclusion was removed. This may cause the diamond to crack or chip if knocked if bumped.

To fix the holes created by laser drilling there is a process where the holes are filled after its inclusions have been removed. This is called fracture filling.

Jewellers fill the tunnels and cavities with a crystal substance, making the results of laser drilling even less visible. Unlike laser drilling, however, fracture filling does not yield permanent result, and this is why it must be disclosed. Subjecting a fracture-filled diamond to heat or ultrasonic cleaning can destroy the crystal filling and damage the stone.

To avoid being sold a diamond which has been laser drilled or filled, you need to ask the jeweller to explicitly check if the diamond has been enhanced by this process. Also ask to see the diamond under a microscope, which will allow you to see how many channels have been drilled, as this treatment has a marked detrimental effect on the value.

If you would like to discuss our Private Client service with us in finer detail, you can contact me on 07966 240530.

By Clare Carby – Private Client Manager

Why is Health and Safety leadership important?

16th August 2018

The safest workplaces are those where H&S standards are set at a high level – from the very top right down throughout the organisation. You must lead by example and encourage everyone to adopt a safe and compliant attitude to working safely.

Why directors and board members need to act

Directors and boards need to examine their own behaviours, both individually and collectively, against the guidance given.

Where you see that you fall short of the standards set by regulations & procedures, you need to change what you do to become more effective leaders in health and safety.

The health and safety of your workforce should be considered as a key business risk in board decisions. By risk profiling your business, you are protecting the safety and health of your employees and also members of the public who may be affected by your company’s activities. Be lead by risk and not by law.

Ask yourself:

What are the hazards?
Who can they harm?
How are we going to manage the risk?

This must become embedded within your organisation so that it becomes what you do and not a bureaucratic nightmare.

Essential principles of Safety Leadership

Strong leadership from the top should be visible to your staff, with an active commitment from the board. You can establish effective ‘downward’ communication systems and management structures, showing integration of good health and safety management within business decisions.

What does this mean in practice?

Talking to your staff
Taking an interest in their role
Asking them about what they are doing
Asking yourself how they can get hurt doing this
What do you need to make it safer?
Getting a commitment from employees to work safely
If you see employees working safely thank them (believe me, they will feel that you care about their safety)

Get your staff involved. It’s a great idea to engage your workforce in the promotion and achievement of safe working conditions. Providing good, quality training combined with the use of effective, ‘upward’ communication will work in your company’s favour.

Your assessment and review should involve:

identifying and managing health and safety risks
accessing (and following) competent advice
monitoring, reporting and reviewing performance

Addressing health and safety should not be a burden: it offers significant opportunities and the benefits include a safer workplace and fewer accidents. Employees who are healthier, happier and motivated will result in your business suffering lower employee absence and turnover rates.

By looking after all of this, you should see a reduction in costs to your business due to:

a reduction in the number of claims
a reduction in your liability premium
a reduced threat of legal action by enforcing authorities
an improved standing among suppliers and partners
a better reputation for corporate responsibility among investors, customers and communities
an increase in productivity

REMEMBER: IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE. IT’S JUST COMMON SENSE & GOOD LEADERSHIP

By Ken Stevens CMIOSH – Risk Services Manager

The Dress Code Debates

9th August 2018

The recent hot weather has led to numerous companies relaxing their dress code policies, so employees who usually were seen in a full suit and tie, were able to undo their collars and forgo the jacket in order to cope with the unprecedented British summer heat. It therefore seems fitting to highlight some areas for employers to consider when it comes to implementing a dress code policy within their business.

To get us started, rule 101. It may seem obvious however employers must avoid unlawful discrimination in any dress code policy. Employers should also be careful with blanket banning or imposing of particulars items of dress. Two main areas to be especially considerate of surround items relating to religion or to a specific gender.

Religious Dress

Religion is one of the nine protected characteristics and many religions often have items of dress associated with them. If employers chose to ban an item of dress that is associated with a particular religion i.e. Turbans or Crucifixes, it may be found to be discriminatory, although this isn’t always the case.

A French company won their case for banning religious wear in their office as they applied their policy equally across all religions (i.e. no crucifixes, headscarves, turbans), however in the UK there is a higher bar on the ‘objective justification’ or essentially more onus on the employer to justify their reasons for banning the item of dress. In the UK the employer would have to have to present a legitimate business reason or safety reason for banning the religious dress in the workplace, and even then they wouldn’t be guaranteed in defending their case.

Gender

Gender is another protected characteristic and just like with religion, certain items of dress are associated with particular genders. This doesn’t mean that you cannot implement a successful dress code though. If you take ‘business wear’ as an example, then as long as dress codes are proportionate and applied equally, you can have different requirements for men and women. A specific example would be requiring women to wear “business dress” and men “must wear a tie” as this is holding both genders to similar standards.

Tattoos and Piercings

Another area which has seen some press recently involves tattoos and piercings. Under UK Law workers have no standalone protection for having a tattoo or piercing under the current discrimination legislation. Roughly a fifth of adults have a tattoo with that statistic continuing to rise with tattoos in the younger generations becoming more common place. This is leading to some companies, including McDonalds and Starbucks, relaxing tattoo policies and allowing them to be visible providing they aren’t offensive. Although employers do not necessarily have to focus on whether their actions are unlawful when banning tattoos or piercings they need to consider whether they are missing out on a bank of particularly young talent by banning them.

Ultimately when thinking about implementing a dress code or when reviewing a historic one that is already in place, companies should consider what seems ‘reasonable’, whether their current practices reflect that of today’s society and to make sure that any rules put in place, don’t impact on one section of the workplace more than another to prevent either direct or indirect discrimination.

If you would like to discuss your dress code or any other HR issues, please contact our HR Consultancy team on 01302 341 344.

By Kris Kerins BSc (Hons) PGC (Tech Mgmt) – Risk Services Adviser

Not to blow our own trumpet, but…

6th August 2018

Did you know that ProAktive are Chartered Insurance Brokers? Did you also know that in order to gain Chartered status, ProAktive have to have a set of core values and business practices that meet with our professional bodies (the Chartered Insurance Institute) code of ethics? These are just two factors, amongst many, which we excel at and go some way to demonstrating our commitment to professionalism.

Across the professional landscape, from accountants to civil engineers, through to insurance brokers, insurers, insurance practitioners and financial planners, Chartered status stands proud as an indicator of the highest standards of learning and ethical behaviour; the gold standard.

Remarkably, only 3% of the UK’s premier insurance broking firms qualify for Chartered status. Which we feel makes us stand out from the crowd.

By committing ourselves to the chartered standard, ProAktive feel we have satisfied rigorous qualification criteria by retaining a highly-qualified team who voluntarily adhere to the membership conditions of the Chartered Insurance Institute.

When you use a Chartered insurance broker you are dealing with proven professionals. The Chartered Insurance Institute is empowered by the Privy Council to award Chartered status, and the award is only made when firms can demonstrate that they have reached an incredibly high standard. Indeed, while Chartered titles are steeped in history, they remain the benchmark of professional excellence and integrity.

Contact the team at ProAktive to discuss your insurance needs on 01302 341344.

By Laura Scott ACII – Commercial Account Handler and Chartered Insurance Broker

Is your business reliant on any one customer or supplier? Read on!

31st July 2018

It is often the case that a company may only deal with one or two customers or suppliers without realising the consequences should something catastrophic happen at their premises. The question you need to ask is “how could this affect your business?” Would your business be able to continue trading?

Suppliers and customers can suffer the same problems as your business and this could affect their

ability to produce the goods you rely on. For example, a client who creates bespoke furniture is reliant on a steady source of wood as a raw material to allow them to create their products. Should the wood only come from one main supplier, your business could struggle to get the raw materials it needs. If the supplier suffered a fire at their premises it would affect their ability to supply any wood.

Cover against such events is available. This is added as a ‘Business Interruption Extension’ and allows you to specify your main suppliers and/or customers by name.

Specifying your customer/supplier may not be necessary for you. An automatic extension is often added under Business Interruption insurance for Unspecified Suppliers and Unspecified Customers which may meet your requirements. This cover is generally restricted in terms of liability and location. It will generally apply at the Insured’s suppliers/ customer’s premises providing they are in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands or Isle of Man. There is also a maximum limit of indemnity usually applied, which varies between insurers.

If you think this could affect you and you would like a quotation to add this cover to your policy please call your usual ProAktive contact or speak to one of our team on 01302 341 344.

By Molly White Cert CII – Commercial Account Handler