In November 2015, the sentencing council wrote the definitive guideline on health and safety offence, corporate Manslaughter and Food safety and Hygiene offences. As of February 1^st 2016 new guidelines for health and safety offences will come into force.

These new guidelines have been designed to increase the level of fines, especially for larger companies who do not adhere to health and safety regulations. Larger companies, companies with a turnover in excess of £50 million, could see a fine of £10 million if they are caught in breach of health and safety regulations. Companies with a larger turnover could be hit with fines that exceed £10 million.

Prior to the creation of the definitive guideline there was no consistent method of calculating the fines that were issued to offending companies. The amount the company was fined was very much left to the judge and their opinion on the matter. The old legislation allowed for unlimited fines and no clear starting point.

The new definitive guidelines provide a nine step approach for the judges to follow, allowing the calculations of the sentences to be consistent across the UK.  The stages include;

Determining the offence category: The court will determine the offence category by various culpability and harm factors provided in the guidelines.

Starting Point and category range: at this stage the court will be focused on the organisation’s annual turnover, using this as a starting point for the sentencing.

Check whether the proposed fine based on turnover is proportionate to the overall means of the defender: in this stage the court will review the amount of the fine based on your annual turnover, and ensure that the fine they are charging the organisation with is large enough to make a substantial impact on the business to ensure that they will follow health and safety regulations in the future.

Consider other factors that may warrant adjustment of the proposed fine:  the court will take into account any impacts of the fine within the company. For example, the amount of the fine impairs the companies’ ability to makes restitution to victims.

Consider any factors which indicate a reduction

Reduction for guilty pleas: the court will take into account and reduction for a guilty plea.

Compensation and Ancillary orders: the court will consider whether to make ancillary orders. These include; Remediation, Forfeiture and compensation.

Totality principle: if sentencing for more that one offence, consider whether the total sentence is just and proportionate to the offending behaviour.  

Reasons:  duty to give reasons for and explain the effect of the sentence.

This new guideline will apply to all health and safety cases in the UK. The guidelines provide the judges with a “fine matrix” which helps them come up with a suitable fine for the offence. In total there are 4 categories of culpability with categories ranging from high (1) a deliberate breach or complete disregard to the law, and 4 categories of harm high (1) which is serious harm including death to low (4) .

For large companies, if the judge rules their offence as low culpability and a harm category of 4 they can expect a fine ranging from £3,000 - £60,000. The judge rules their offence as high culpability and harm category 1 they can expect fines in the region of £2,600,000 – £10,000,000. Micro business - businesses that do not turn over £2,000,000 per annum. Fines for low culpability and low harm cases can range between £50 – £2,000. T

This new guideline makes it clear that they will be fining companies a substation amount to make an economic impact which will really highlight to the company the importance of following the health and safety legislation. Whilst in the past, the fines imposed on companies found in breach of health and safety regulations have been focused on the outcome, however, these new fines are supposed to punish the employees that put their employees at risk.

You can read the new sentencing guidelines here.   

We know it’s only January, but already orders are pouring in for asset labels for schools, universities, colleges, academy’s and even nursery’s.  Every year, £1000’s worth of assets in schools get damaged, lost or stolen. By implementing an asset management system you can easily track, manage, maintain and identify your schools assets.

Here at label source we specialise in creating bespoke asset labels for schools. Whether you are looking to label all your fixed assets or school equipment, such as computers, laptops, furniture, projectors, and televisions we can provide top quality, durable asset labels to identify your establishment’s property.

Asset labels can help schools, manage their data and records quicly and effectively, no longer will you have to perform manual inventory control and data entry, just a quick scan of the bar code and you are done.  In addition, asset labels will also help you locate missing items, and even deter theft of the schools property.

We supply a huge variety of asset labels, from tamper evident asset labels, which leave a “void”, pattern behind on the asset if the label has been peeled. We also supply a huge range of destructible labels, which break apart if somebody attempts to remove the label.

If you cannot the exact tag that you are looking for create your own with our simple custom asset tag builder. If you have any questions regarding asset tags or our custom asset tag builder contact us by calling 0800 3761 693 or emailing info@laelsource.co.uk

Britain’s biggest sports chain Sports Direct is investigating an incident after a customer twitted a picture of their blocked fire exits at their flagship store in the bullring, Birmingham. 

In the picture you can clearly see that the boxes are stacked higher than the push bars, on the emergency exits. A display of ski goggles can also be seen propped up next to the door even though on the fire door it clearly states “keep clear”. The fire escape route was completely inaccessible, making it a hazard to anyone who was working or shopping in the store. 

A customer, who was horrified at the complete disregard of fire safety regulations, took a photo and posted it on social media, tagging the fire service, sports direct and the shopping centre.  

If you are working in retail, an office, or a factory it is everyone’s responsibility to help with the prevention of fires, and keeping your fellow colleagues and customers safe. If you notice a problem within your workplace it is your responsibility to report it so the hazard can be rectified. 

Below are some reminders of fire prevention best practices. 

• Practice good housekeeping.  If you have boxes or clutter around your work place, this can lead to fuelling the fire, and preventing people from using the escape route, or emergency equipment.
   
• Dispose of flammable items correctly. Place flammable materials in a covered non-flammable box by doing so you are preventing adding more fuel to the fire.
   
• Do not leave naked flames unattended. If you are using naked flames such as blowtorches, make sure you have completely extinguished the flame before leaving the equipment unattended. 
   
• Perform regular maintenance checks of machinery to prevent overheating and friction sparks.
   
• Report any electrical hazards. Electrical faults are one of the main causes of fires in the workplace. Equipment needs to be fully maintained to ensure that it is not malfunctioning. Do not attempt to fix faulty wiring if you are not qualified to do so. 
   
• Store all chemicals safely.  Make sure you are not storing dangerous chemicals in places where they might explode, or mix with other dangerous chemicals. Make sure you are keeping them out of direct sunlight, and in a well-ventilated room. 
   
• Use all precautions to prevent ignition in any potentially dangerous environments. Prevent exposing naked flames, creating sparks, and use non sparking tools. 
   
• Make sure you and your staff only smoke in designated areas. 
   
• Never block fire exists, or emergency equipment.  Ensure your employees are observing the emergency exits, and taking into account the emergency exit routes when stacking and storing goods.
   
• Teach your staff how to use fire extinguishers correctly. 

A workplace fire is devastating and many companies that experience a fire, never rebuild. In addition to potential injury and loss of life it can lead to job losses and closure to a business that has taken years to establish. It is everybody’s responsibility to work in a safe manner and prevent fire hazards. 

As an employer it is your responsibility to ensure that your employees are appropriately trained, and are knowledgeable as to what actions to take, and where to go in the event of the fire. It is also your responsibility to clearly label the emergency routes and ensure that none of the fire exits are blocked. 

Like you, we take fire safety extremely seriously here at Label Source, and stock a comprehensive range of products designed to improve fire safety and to protect you and your employees in the unfortunate event of a fire. So if your workplace is missing any fire safety signs, head over to our Emergency Access & Fire Safety Signs department. 

We are proud to be able to offer a truly comprehensive range of fire safety signs, however, if you cannot find the exact sign you are looking for don’t hesitate to contact out customer service team by telephoning 0800 3761 693 or emailing info@labelsource.co.uk and a member of our customer service team will be more than happy to assist you.

When printing onto thermal transfer labels it is important to understand the different components and printing combinations to ensure that you get your desired results. There are 3 different types of ribbons used in thermal printers, each have their own unique benefits:

Resin ribbons allow you to print directly onto polyester, vinyl and plastic labels. This produces an extremely durable label which can be used for a variety of applications within logistics and distribution industry.

The wax/resin ribbons, unlike wax ribbons, can be exposed to small amounts of liquid without losing their quality. Wax/resin ribbons produce a more intricate image, ideal for printing your own barcode labels. We recommend use the wax/resin ribbon combined with our top coated thermal transfer labels to enhance the print clarity.

Wax ribbons produce a long lasting image. This is ideal for labels that will you are intending to use for a long periods of time. Our thermal transfer labels feature permanent acrylic adhesive, to ensure that your labels stand the test of time.  To ensure that the quality of the image is not lost you must keep these labels way from liquids. Label source recommends that labels created using this ribbon are used to label shelves in your dry stock room, and other dry places in your workplace.

We supply a wide range of thermal transfer labels, all of which have an operating temperature range of -15C to +90C, our labels also retain colour, so they don’t blacken when they are exposed to hot temperatures., making them the perfect choice for companies who are working within the food and medical industries.  

We understand that it can be a bit overwhelming trying to find the thermal transfer label that will provide you with the best results. But don’t worry, a member of our friendly customer service team is always at hand to help you. If you have any questions, contact us by calling 0800 3761 693 or email us at info@labelsource.co.uk.

A couple in Kingsbury, Warwickshire, lost everything when their house went up in flames due to an electrical fault in their tumble dryer. The back of their house was so badly damaged it had to be rebuilt, and their bedrooms and living rooms were scarred by smoke damage. Life for this couple and their young family, understandably, became incredibly difficult as they struggled through financial and emotional stress whilst they rebuilt their home.

 At the time, the couple were unaware that their particular tumble dryer had been recalled, and carried on using the tumble dryer because they thought it functioned fine. After the devastation they experienced they are now currently backing Electrical Safety Firsts campaign to raise awareness of the danger of electrical items and why it is so important to register your electrical products and keep an eye out for product recalls.

Faulty appliances cause £41.6 million of damage every and roughly 46 deaths per year in the UK alone.

Whilst it is important to look after your family and pets at home by registering your electrical products, it is equally as important to look after your employee’s in the work place.

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 requires you to ensure that any electrical equipment that you have in workplace that have the potential to cause an injury is maintained in a safe condition. There frequency of the inspections and test of your electrical equipment is simply down to the type of equipment that you are using in your workplace. So for example, a computer in an office will need to be checked more often than a desk lamp.

It is recommended that all electrical products within commercial properties and rented accommodation is PAT tested at least once a year. Because the UK is now importing more and more of our electrical goods from overseas, it is quite possible that they have not been subject to a strict examination and testing procedure, like UK manufactured appliances. So the testing of these appliances and products is of paramount importance.   

PAT Testing is a complex procedure that should only be carried out by trained electricians.

Once the electrician has completed the PAT test a label should be placed on the equipment highlighting the status of the equipment. “Passed for use” means that the equipment is safety and ready to use. “failed Do not Use” means that the appliance has failed the test and should not be used under any circumstances with until it is has been fixed or replaced. Most PAT Testing Labels will also have the date of when the nest test is due. Acting as a reminder to keep your appliances tested and maintained so you are safe from risk of injury or fire.

Be sure to keep your home and work place safe by registering all your electrical appliances, looking out for product recalls and PAT testing appliances in the workplace to ensure the safety of your work place.  

Click here to view our range of PAT Testing labels and record cards.