Health and safety body to target 'gig economy'

A delivery bicycle rider passes UCC in Cork. Picture: Larry Cummins

The Health and Safety Authority has said it will target the gig economy as part of its latest strategy, and admitted that farm deaths are still “unacceptably high”.

In its Strategy Statement 2022-2024, the workplace safety body also said the Covid-19 pandemic was presenting fresh challenges and that it was also wary of under-reporting of injuries and incidents in the workplace.

In the report, laid before the Oireachtas, the HSA said its targets for the next four years will include increasing the inspection programme focusing on sectors with higher risks of incidents and fatalities, and targeting activities in sectors in the gig economy, and where vulnerable people and migrant workers are employed, as well as an increased focus on the reporting of incidents, dangerous occurrences, and fatalities.

"The continued growth of the ‘gig economy’ is also a key factor in all sectors, but particularly in the logistics and retail sectors," it said.

"Additional issues include the need to address implications arising from the new Code of Practice on Determining Employment Status, to identify employers and workplace duty holders, and to differentiate between self-employed and subcontracted workers."

Assessing its previous strategy, the HSA said many targets had been reached but challenges which were identified in the 2019-2021 strategy remained, "including safety in agriculture and construction, and long-term occupational health risks such as work-related stress".

It noted a continued reduction in work-related non-fatal incidents during 2019 and 2020, with 7,417 non-fatal workplace incidents reported in 2020, down from 9,358 in 2019 and 9,199 in 2018 — a trend the HSA described as encouraging, while admitting that the level of injuries was still too high.

However, the number of occupational fatalities has increased in recent years: "Measured in relation to the number of workers, fatalities have increased from 1.5 per 100,000 workers in 2018 to 1.8 and 1.7 per 100,000 workers in 2019 and 2020, respectively."

It said this may in part reflect increased construction sector activity, and added: "Fatalities remain unacceptably high in agriculture, with 19.5 and 17.5 fatalities per 100,000 workers in 2019 and 2020, respectively."

The report said: "It must also be noted that there can be considerable under-reporting of non-fatal incidents, with smaller enterprises and self-employed people, in particular, less likely to report incidents compared to larger enterprises, while newer enterprises may be unaware of the obligation to report non-fatal work-related incidents to the HSA."

The report also emphasised the changing face of work caused by the pandemic, even aside from disease prevention and control requirements.

"The broader impact of the pandemic in accelerating the trend towards remote/hybrid working arrangements will also be an important consideration for this strategy." it said. 

"It will also include the health impacts of sedentary working and the implications for how the Authority conducts inspections, which may involve employers and employees seeking clarification on roles under these new arrangements."