Firms warned over reporting COVID-19 cases
Companies are being reminded that they have a legal duty report cases of COVID-19 in the workplace amid concern over a “significant under-reporting” of incidents.
The Health and Safety Executive said it had received 3,000 reports of corona virus related occupational diseases ,200 reports of dangerous occurrences and 71 worker deaths.
Sarah Albion the HSE’s chief executive told Parliament’s Work and Pensions Committee last month that it had seen “some significant under-reporting.
Specialist lawyers at Irwin Mitchell say employers are under a legal duty to report cases of COVID-19 which may have been contracted at work.
COVID 19 is classed a biological agent for the purposes of the regulations and so employers are under a legal duty to report cases where:
*A worker has been diagnosed with COVID -19 and there are reasonable grounds to believe this was caused by exposure at work. This must be reported.
*A worker dies as a result of occupational exposure to Coronavirus.
Irwin Mitchell said it was essential that employers understood that during the pandemic their legal duties to comply with health and safety legislation remain.
Roger Maddocks, a specialist in the firm's national workplace injury team, said: “It is worrying that the HSE has said it believes there could be a serious under-reporting of coronavirus cases contracted through employment.
“Employers failing to comply with their duties to report COVID-19 cases, where the disease may have been contracted at work, may be liable to HSE investigation and enforcement action.”