Workplace Guides

Pests can be divided into three basic groups; rodents, insects and birds.  They can enter a building for warmth, shelter or food via deliveries, open doors and windows.  Pests can spread diseases, viruses, bacteria, protozoa and parasites via their fur, feet, droppings, urine and saliva.

Photocopiers and laser printers emit hydrocarbons, ozone, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and dust from paper and toner.

Radon is a chemical element (atomic number 86). It naturally occurs as a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas and is formed as one of the intermediate products of the radioactive decay of uranium. Radon is one of the noble gases.

A risk assessment is an important step in protecting your workers and your business, as well as complying with the law. It helps you focus on the risks which really matter in your workplace – the ones with the potential to cause real harm. In many instances, straightforward measures can readily control risks, for example ensuring that spillages are cleaned up promptly, so people do not slip, or that walkways are kept clear to ensure that people do not trip. For most, that means simple, inexpensive and effective measures to ensure that your most valuable asset – your workforce – is protected.

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires that employers make sure that contractors working on their behalf are competent and have an awareness of their health and safety responsibilities.

Mould is a form of fungus that thrives in warm, damp and humid environments. In high enough concentrations, exposure can cause health problems, as a result it can be referred to as ‘toxic mould’.

Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) is a phrase which describes a malaise affecting some people working in office buildings. Current best practice is to avoid the use of the term ‘sick building syndrome’ as it is recognised that the range of symptoms can arise from many different factors. Current indoor air quality research, in combination with occupational health focuses on specific symptoms rather than the SBS as an entity.  

Swine flu is a contagious disease of animals caused by viruses that normally only infects pigs. Swine influenza viruses are specific to pig species but have, on rare occasions, crossed the species barrier to infect humans. Infection with swine influenza has been detected in humans since the 1950's, but they are occasional and until this outbreak, none have been reported in the UK for over 10 years.