29 April 2004 - MORI Poll on Health and Safety Attitudes in the UK
A report on a poll conducted by MORI Social Research Institute - Attitudes towards health and safety: a quantitative survey of stakeholder opinion, reports that 75% say their operations are the better for health and safety regulation, 60% that health and safety saves money in the long run, and 80% deem health and safety to be in their top two most important workplace issues.
The poll of 500 employers and 3,000 members of the public was wide ranging finding that:
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14% of employers think health and safety law seriously hampers their business
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citizens and employees are more concerned about road safety than workplace health and safety
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male employees are more concerned (74%) with workplace risks than their
female colleagues (66%) -
two thirds of employees believe their employers take health and safety issues very seriously and the larger the organisation the more likely they are to say so
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most employees feel they have the right amount of health and safety information and training
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40% of employees have had no or 'not much' training
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85% of employers who have had contact with HSE staff rate them as helpful.
MORI say that the challenge for HSE is to instil the same health and safety culture in small enterprises as successfully as it has in larger ones.
Justin McCracken, HSE Deputy Director General (Operations) commented:
"This survey confirms a high level of support for health and safety - from those who face the risks and those who create them. It shows overwhelming support for our vision of health and safety as a cornerstone of a civilised society. It is also a strong vote of public confidence - from employers, employees and citizens - in HSE and the work we do alongside Local Authorities to promote sensible health and safety and to save lives. We are funded by the taxpayer and must reflect public expectations. The survey shows that views are divided on whether HSE enforcing the law or promoting good practice is most likely to improve health and safety. It confirms that the approach we have set out in our new strategy - to enforce the law and promote good practice and more advice - is in line with what people think will help most. It also confirms that employers and employees share our view that the people best placed to make workplaces safer are the staff and managers who work in them."
The report - Attitudes towards health and safety: a quantitative survey of stakeholder opinion, can be found here.
