AI in the workplace: risks, rewards and responsibilities
While most UK CEOs believe that the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) is inevitable and cannot be slowed down...
By Amy Butterworth, Business in the Community (BITC) on 31 July 2026
Opinion
It’s the autonomy, stupid
Algorithmic management is reshaping how work gets done. But protecting the health and wellbeing of workers requires more than good technology – it calls for genuine respect for autonomy and thoughtful change management. Long-standing OSH guidance can help.
By David Sharp, International Workplace on 26 June 2026
AI, big tech, and the dignity deficit hiding in plain sight
Much of the conversation about artificial intelligence (AI) and the future of work is framed as a question of tomorrow. How will AI reshape entire industries in the years and decades to follow?
By Mike Robinson FCA, British Safety Council on 30 June 2026
Regulating mental health and wellbeing: the current picture
Health and safety law contains detailed rules to regulate the safety of the workforce, across all workplaces, and for specific higher risk activities and industries. These are well enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which has been very successful in driving down the number of fatalities and injuries sustained at work in the UK. The same is not true when it comes to mental health and wellbeing.
By Katherine Metcalfe, Pinsent Masons on 01 October 2024
It’s time to ban artificial stone worktops over silicosis risk
If you are in the market for a new kitchen, you will come across engineered stone or ‘quartz’ worktops. Cheap, premium, luxury are words that will be thrown around photos and videos lingering on expanses of shiny, multicoloured stone. But not in Australia, where since July new engineered stone worktops have been banned (although some states allow a six-month transition period).
By Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle on 01 September 2024
Asbestos risk management: why the UK is falling short
Assessments of background asbestos levels in UK buildings may be providing employers with a false sense of reassurance. The UK also looks set to fall behind Europe in reducing the risks the substance poses to building occupants and workers.
By Colette Willoughby, Asbestos Compliance Limited on 01 September 2024
Will we be celebrating AI fifty years from now?
No doubt you have heard or seen the ads marking the 50th anniversary of that famous fast-food restaurant with the golden arches. Those of you who’ve been paying attention will also be aware that it’s the 50th year since the Health & Safety at Work Act was enacted in the UK. I am sure there is no significance in this. But when I started thinking about it, there are perhaps some parallels we can draw between the success of the aforementioned restaurant chain and the landmark 1974 Act.
By Mike Robinson FCA, British Safety Council on 01 September 2024
Silicosis – time to wake up
Clinicians at the Royal Brompton hospital in London have warned about the dangers of silica exposure in a recent study published in Thorax. They are currently treating the first identified cases of silicosis caused by working with engineered stone in the UK and have called for a ban on artificial stone to ward off the potential for an increase in silicosis cases.
By Jim Shannon MP on 01 September 2024
Asbestos in schools: we need urgent action now to protect teachers and pupils
Asbestos was widely used in construction throughout the 20th Century, before finally being banned in 2000 – 50 years after the causal link with lung disease was made.
By Wayne Bates, NASUWT on 01 September 2024
Engineered stone worktops and silicosis: a challenging problem
The sudden and alarming appearance of silicosis cases among engineered stone workers in the UK, against the backdrop of a ban in Australia and in some US States, has suddenly brought the question of how to regulate for health protection in the workplace to the fore.
By Kevin Bampton, BOHS on 01 September 2024
Asbestos: why ‘management in-situ’ is the wrong approach
The UK has the worst record on mesothelioma deaths (a cancer solely attributed to past asbestos exposure) in the world, primarily because the UK imported more asbestos per capita than any other country.
By Charles Pickles, Airtight on Asbestos on 01 September 2024
Control of Asbestos Regulations: why it’s now time for a review
Although the UK has a framework for managing asbestos in buildings, a proposed new Asbestos Information Certificate rating dutyholder compliance with the relevant legal duties would place greater emphasis on ensuring building owners are adequately reducing the risk to occupants and tradespeople.
By Mick Dawson, ATaC on 01 September 2024
The duty to manage asbestos, the rise in prosecutions and other emerging trends
In this article, I will explore the impact of the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE’s) public awareness campaigns regarding the duty to manage asbestos and consider the resulting rise in prosecutions.
By Francesca Ledwith, Pinsent Masons on 01 September 2024
