HAVS Prosecutions Ring Warning Bell for Employers

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has recently launched a series of prosecutions against employers for failing to ensure that adequate measures were taken to minimise workers’ exposure to vibration and thus putting them at risk of developing hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) and related industrial diseases, in breach of their duties under the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005.



HAVS is a disorder caused by repeated exposure to vibration and can have many undesirable effects, including loss of sensitivity and strength in the hands, pain, numbness and Reynaud’s syndrome, which causes the extremities to turn white (which is why the disease is sometimes called ‘vibration white finger’).



The HSE’s actions should strike a warning bell for employers in any industry in which workers use vibrating tools or machinery. Employers who fail to assess and control the risks their use poses to employees can be subject to considerable fines (in one recent case, a fine of £60,000 was levied) and will also bear the legal costs incurred by the HSE in bringing a successful prosecution.