News & Updates

The team at Eurosafe UK has been hard at work on a new and improved version of this website https://www.ssipassessors.com

Benefits include:

• Secure area where you can complete your submissions and provide evidence
• Email updates on the progress of your submission
• The ability to download your Certificate of Approval
• Automation allowing us to manage you application with increased efficiency ensuring your application is dealt with in a fast and efficient manner

The new version will be going live on the 21st May.

If you are part way through a submission please ensure you have submitted it before the 21st May, if this is not possible please contact us so that we can assist you.

After the 21st May all users will need a username and password in order to login. To get your password please go to https://www.ssipassessors.com/Identity/Account/ForgotPassword and enter your email address.

Following 25 years of successful trading and growth there have been some exciting changes with the Eurosafe UK companies (Eurosafe UK Ltd, Eurosafe UK (CDM Services) Ltd, Eurosafe Plus Ltd, Eurosafe UK Group Ltd and Clouds UK Ultimate Manager).

Since the acquisition of these companies by Marlowe PLC we have been working closely with Marlowe PLC integrating into the Marlowe group and have recently announced the merger of the Eurosafe UK group of companies into Tersus Consultancy Ltd which will take place on the 1st July 2020. Rest assured we will continue to provide the same specialist services and client management you are used to but with additional facilities, resources and services available to you.

The current Eurosafe UK Management team, site staff and nationwide coverage will remain the same, with the Eurosafe team continuing to operate from its offices in York. Our UKAS accredited surveying activities and any other Asbestos related work will be carried out by Tersus under their existing UKAS accreditation.

Our CDM Services business which encompasses all our CDM, fire and safety consultancy activities will continue to operate under the trading name Eurosafe UK. Clouds Ultimate Manager will also continue to trade under its current name with no change to the current systems. Our focus will remain on providing the best service to our clients nationwide across all of our services.

This merger will provide many benefits to our clients, including but not limited to:

• Even better national coverage - Joining forces with Tersus we will be able to share resources with them, ensuring you are provided with the best reaction time and retaining the same standards and quality of service;
• Additional services available - Tersus Consultancy not only specialise in asbestos, but also Legionella consultancy and offer an extensive portfolio of Health Safety and Compliance Training. Via the Marlowe group we can also offer other specialist services in fire suppression & engineering solutions, security, water treatment and HR support. Please do not hesitate to contact any of the Eurosafe team should you require any of the additional services available.

We believe that this is an exciting move forward, both for everyone here at Eurosafe UK and we look forward to continuing our great working relationship as Tersus Consultancy Ltd

With the situation surrounding coronavirus constantly changing and the situation impacting the construction industry we have detailed below sources of info and things to consider when drawing up an action plan for your business:

1. Make sure you are aware of the Government advice on managing the Coronavirus for employers and businesses.
2. Make sure you are aware of the Government’s information on Coronavirus.
3. Make sure you monitor the Government’s Coronavirus Action Plan.
4. Make sure you are follow and continually monitor the NHS Guidance with regards to Coronavirus.
5. Make sure all employees have had toolbox talks briefing them on the details and requirements with regards to Coronavirus.
6. Make sure other contractors on site are following the appropriate procedures and advising this to their employees.
7. Consider the meetings, events and business travel with a review as to if they are necessary or could they be held in another manner or postponed.
8. Formulate a Coronavirus action plan.

Consider within your action plan:
a) Co-ordination and clear leadership on the issue.
b) Preparation for reduced staff levels.
c) Communication channels with your workforce during isolation, home working, etc.
d) Hygiene arrangements.
e) Advising employees on keeping healthy.
f) Workplace cleaning.
g) Review of travel policies.
h) Preparing for remote working where possible.
i) Reviewing your supply chain to ensure they have plans in place.

We wish all our members well during these challenging times.

Eurosafe UK are excited to announce that we are now able to undertake the financial vetting of supply chains during the pre-qualification process.

Our CDM Competent Scheme has always followed the high standards stipulated by our SSIP membership, but we have now taken this a step further by partnering with a world renown credit agency. From today we can appraise your supply chain on health and safety issues and also on financial stability.

Following the demise of Carillion earlier this year many good, experienced trade contractors failed due to monies owed to them by Carillion. It is therefore more important than ever before to ensure that a contractor who starts a project for you is still there at the end.

On 1 February 2016, the Sentencing Council’s Definitive Guideline for Health and Safety Offences, Corporate Manslaughter and Food Safety and Hygiene Offences (more commonly referred to in the OSH world as the sentencing guidelines) came into force in England and Wales.

A year on from this, the 20 largest fines imposed on businesses for safety and health offences last year totalled £38.6m, compared with £13.5m in 2015 and £4.3m in 2014.

Since 1 February 2016, when the Sentencing Council’s Definitive Guideline for Health and Safety Offences, Corporate Manslaughter and Food Safety and Hygiene Offences came in to force, there have been 19 fines of £1m or more. In 2015 there were just three fines that exceeded £1m and in 2014 there were none.

Not all fines in the 2016 top 20 involved a fatality. The guidelines state that a large fine can also be handed down in the event of an injury, or if there was a substantial risk of injury or death.

How the guidelines work

Using the new sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences, a court applies a formula to set the penalty, first deciding whether the defendant’s culpability was very high, high, medium or low. The next factor is a matrix of likelihood the safety failing would lead to harm and how bad that harm could have been – from minor injuries to lifelong disability or death. The judge must also consider how many people were exposed to the risk of harm and whether the safety failing was a significant cause of actual harm before setting a final harm rating.

The harm rating and culpability assessment is then applied to a series of tables with fine ranges for organisations with different levels of annual turnover. The ranges are as follows:

• micro-organisations (turnover less than £2m): £50 to £450,000
• small organisations (turnover between £2m and £10m): £100 to £1.6m
• medium organisations (turnover between £10m and £50m): £1,000 to £4m
• large organisations (turnover £50m and above) £3,000 to £10m

For each harm category at each culpability level there is a suggested “starting point” fine, ranging from £200 for low culpability, harm level 4, for a micro-organisation, to £4m for a large organisation with very high culpability and harm level 1. Judges can move below these starting points for mitigating circumstances, such as a good safety record and early guilty pleas. Aggravating factors, such as obstructing an investigation or cost-cutting at the expense of safety, will push the penalty up the scale from the starting point.

Refer to https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/HS-offences-definitive-guideline-FINAL-web.pdf

The new CDM 2015 Regulations come into force on 6th April 2015 replacing the current CDM 2007 Regulations.

The main changes are:

• Creation of a new role of Principal Designer – this will replace the current role of CDM Coordinator. The Principal Designer will be responsible for planning, managing and coordinating health and safety during the pre-construction phase of the project and also the preparation of the Health and Safety File. Our new Principal Designer assessment criteria will be finalised shortly.
• For the first time the CDM regulations will apply to domestic client projects, e.g. homeowners arranging construction work on their own properties.
• The Regulations have specifically removed the competency requirement and replaced this with the requirement for ‘skills, knowledge and experience’, or if they are an organisation, ‘the organisational capability’. The HSE fully endorses the use of pre-qualification assessments by SSIP Forum member schemes as a sufficient way of assessing organisational capability. SSIP assessments are all judged on the core criteria approved by HSE.

There will a transitional period of six months to cover projects already underway on 6th April 2015 to allow for a smooth transition between the existing and the new regulations. For more information refer to http://www.citb.co.uk/health-safety-and-other-topics/health-safety/construction-design-and-management-regulations/cdm-guidance-documents/ and http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l153.htm

From 10th February 2014 the costs of assessments will increase slightly to cover the additional work that an ever more comprehensive assessment process entails, adding just £10 to initial contractor assessments and design practice assessments. Annual renewals and mutual recognitions will also increase by just £10.

For further information on the CDM Competent Scheme and the benefits of membership of SSIP please refer to the website https://www.ssipassessors.com/

The latest annual health and safety statistics have been released by HSE. Fatalities are almost half the level they were some 20 years ago. Great Britain's health and safety performance is better than many European countries including Germany, France, Italy and Spain. This indicates that stronger safety regulations have had a positive effect.

The statistics show that working in the construction industry continues to be a high-risk occupation where 39 employees were killed at work in the last year. However, this number is down 19 % on last year's figure of 48. Non-fatal major injuries were most commonly as a result of slips, trips and falls from height.

Work related diseases resulted in 12,000 deaths of which the most common are asbestos-related cancers and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases related to gases, dust and fumes at work. These deaths are as a result of past exposures at work as the symptoms of these diseases take many years to develop.

For further information please visit: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/index.htm?ebul=gd-cons/nov13&cr=1

As members of the SSIP Forum, we have been carrying out more mutual recognitions over the last 12 months. Eurosafe UK embraces the ethos of SSIP and the deem to satisfy agreement which provides cost and time savings to the suppliers that we accredit in this manner. Since its launch in 2009, the number of SSIP Registered Members has rapidly increased to the current number of 36. Consequently we are dealing with a wider array of pre-qualification schemes which results in additional administration time verifying details, accreditation expiry dates and other information.

In order to accommodate the rising costs we are experiencing we intend to increase the fee for mutual recognitions from £55 to £65 with effect from 1st March 2013.

If you wish to know more about the benefits of the Eurosafe CDM Competent Scheme or benefits from our membership of SSIP see the following https://www.ssipassessors.com/. If you wish to join the CDM Competent Scheme please follow https://www.ssipassessors.com/Submissions/Request

The Health and Safety Executive's proposed changes to the CDM Regulations were due to be placed before the HSE Board in December 2012 however delays in preparing the draft regulations has resulted in the HSE confirming that they will not now go to their February Board meeting and will only be presented to the HSE Board for consideration in March 2013 at the very earliest.

Since it's launch in 2007 CDM Competent has developed into an industry recognised contractor pre-qualification scheme and following gaining membership of the Safety Schemes in Procurement forum (SSIP) in 2009 has continued to grow and in doing so has helped to improve health and safety standards of contractors within the construction industry and provided clients with assurance that they are meeting their obligations under the CDM Regulations in relation to the appointment of competent contractors.

In December 2011 the costs of assessments will increase slightly to cover the additional work that an ever more comprehensive assessment process entails adding just £35 to a large contractor initial assessment and only £15 to a small design practice assessment. All new assessments and annual renewals from the 12th December 2011 will be charged under the new fee structure and suppliers advised accordingly at the point of application or renewal from this date.

For further information on the CDM Competent scheme and the benefits of membership of SSIP please refer to the website https://www.ssipassessors.com/