Don't fall foul of health and safety poster scams
Habia is warning salon owners not to fall foul of companies targeting small businesses with misleading information about new health and safety law posters.
Employers have a legal duty under the Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations (HSIER) to display the official Health and Safety Executive (HSE) law poster in each workplace or provide each worker with a copy of the equivalent pocket card. A new law poster has been produced by the HSE, but employers have until 5 April 2014 to replace the posters or provide pocket cards.
The misleading promotions include mailshots in a brown envelope, overprinted with the words 'Legal Notice Action Required'. They also state, either in emails or mailshots, that the old poster must be replaced immediately and that the law poster should be displayed on every notice board within the business premises.
Wendy Nixon, Habia's Health and Safety Manager, said: "There's always someone who tries to take advantage whenever there are changes in legislation. This is something our members have made us aware of and we are working with HSE to make sure that salons do not fall for this. Some of the information being sent to salons is completely wrong and is simply designed to scare salons into a sale. Any salon in doubt should contact HSE directly."
Full details on the new poster, include clarification on employer's responsibilities, can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/lawposter.htm
