Balancing on a 'red tape tightrope'?

Small business H&S advice could threaten safety
July 10th 2006

Croner claims that recent advice from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) intended to help reduce the red tape burden on small businesses could put them at greater financial risk.

Mary Broughton, FSB National Health and Safety Chairman, stated that small employers already take sufficient care of their staff and that government needs to employ a lighter regulatory touch if the UK is to compete with the rest of the world.

But Croner says that small firms are already balancing on a ‘red tape tightrope’, often trying to keep legal compliance to a minimum. It claims the FSM advice, albeit well intended, could cause firms to take safety far less seriously than they should.

“Regulations are there to protect employers and employees and better health and safety should be seen as an investment rather than a cost. We’re advising small businesses to continue with the existing law until such a time when simpler guidelines may be available,” says Croner’s Nasar Farooq.

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