Currently there is no escaping the reality of terror threats, with the attacks in Barcelona last week and the UK still on high alert after three separate attacks in as many months.  We’re all impacted to a degree, but there are those that are directly impacted – perhaps an employee? In these times in which we live and work, should employers be preparing for the possibility that they will have to support an affected employee or even protect their workers from such events? Firstly, an employer owes a duty of care to its workers. Therefore,... Continue reading

This week sees the launch of the new version of the IOSH Managing Safely eLearning course by International Workplace. It’s a major revision: the course has been over a year in the making, it’s based on the latest version 5.0 of the IOSH syllabus, and it contains nearly 25,000 lines of new code. We’re running a free trial so you can see it for yourself – you can find the details at the end of this article. The course, and the learning platform it’s delivered on, contain a number of innovations.   Innovative new course Let’s st... Continue reading

Viewers of BBC Horizon may have seen comedian Rory Bremner’s programme exploring the science behind a medical condition which he suspects he has – Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Approximately 4% of adults have been diagnosed as being affected by ADHD. It is a mental health condition that is often diagnosed in childhood with symptoms that can continue into a person’s adult life. This condition can manifest itself in different ways. Symptoms include: hyperactivity; erratic or impulsive behaviour; poor concent... Continue reading

Readers will have been unable to avoid the media storm caused by the United Airlines’ scandal, which provoked public outrage from the viral footage of a passenger being forcibly and violently removed from an overbooked flight from Chicago to Louisville. It later emerged that the passenger, Mr Dao, was a doctor and had to see patients in the morning, so he refused to disembark the aircraft. The airline sought volunteers to leave the plane in order to make way for four employees to board the plane as they were required to travel to Chicago in... Continue reading

As business travel becomes ever more integral to corporate growth plans, employers need to be aware that the threat of kidnap and ransom can occur in any region. As companies expand into new territories this can potentially increase the risk to business travellers, yet employers underestimate this risk and need to do more to protect their employees, says The Health Insurance Group.  Approximately 40,000 kidnappings occur every year and over 40% of these are of business personnel or their dependents. Regions with the highest risk, such as Mexi... Continue reading