4. Safety reps, safety committees and taking action on health and safety grounds

This chapter covers the latest official and union guidance on the role and statutory rights of safety reps, of all workers to take action on health and safety, and on safety committees. It explains the practical application of the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 (SRSCR). This includes what the regulations say on the appointment of reps, their functions, consultation rights, facilities, paid time off and right to information as well as the function of committees. It also covers enforcement of the regulations and how to report issues to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Finally, it looks at health and safety where there is no union, the need for stronger regulations and to push back against threats to union rights, as well as at what protections there are for those who take action including by whistleblowing.

Key changes and developments

In January 2022, the UCU university and college union secured a £100,000 compensation award from the University of Huddersfield after it refused to reinstate a lecturer whose health concerns it had ignored, despite being ordered to do so by an employment tribunal.

In February 2022, new Greenwich University research on the role of safety reps during the Covid-19 pandemic provided more evidence of the “union effect”;

In March 2022, the Unite general union announced it had appointed an independent legal team to investigate the possible collusion by union officers in blacklisting.