Manual Handling and Electrical Safety: Key Risks Every Employer Must Address
HSE inspection campaigns · Overhead power line fatality · DSE compliance
The HSE regularly targets specific risk areas through inspection campaigns — and two of the most serious, yet frequently underestimated, are manual handling and electrical safety. Here’s what employers need to know, including the latest HSE activity and real-world prosecutions that show what can go wrong.
Manual Handling: HSE Launches Construction Inspection Campaign
The HSE has launched a new inspection campaign focused on manual handling in the construction sector. While the campaign targets construction sites, inspectors can apply the same scrutiny to manual handling activities in any type of organisation they visit.
Manual handling is often overlooked, with civil litigation rather than regulatory action historically driving compliance. But the HSE is stepping up its focus on an activity that can cause debilitating musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) — injuries to joints, muscles and bones that can be life-altering.
What HSE Inspectors Are Checking
- Workers and employers understand the risks of moving and handling materials.
- Work has been planned to eliminate or substitute manual handling where possible.
- Sensible control measures are in place to protect against MSDs where risks can’t be eliminated.
📥 Free HSE Resources Available
The HSE has made a range of free resources available, including employer and worker guidance, downloadable site posters and an online manual handling quiz. These are worth using as part of your training and awareness programme.
Electrical Safety: Beyond PAT Testing
When employers think about electrical safety, attention tends to fall on portable appliance testing (PAT) and periodic wiring inspections. These are important — but electrical hazards extend well beyond fixed installations and portable equipment, as two recent fatal prosecutions demonstrate.
⚠️ Case Study: Fatal Electrocution at Littlecombe Farm
On 13 May 2021, Patrick ‘Paddy’ Rice, a 43-year-old delivery driver employed by Langford Plant Hire, was fatally electrocuted at VB Farms LLP’s Littlecombe Farm in Crediton, Devon. He was delivering stone to repair farm tracks when the hydraulic arm of his tipper lorry made contact with an 11kV overhead power line. He was electrocuted after stepping out of the vehicle.
The HSE investigation found VB Farms LLP had failed to carry out an assessment of how the delivery work could be completed safely and had not considered the danger of working near the overhead line. The farm was fined £60,000. Paddy left behind a family.
What Employers Must Do
- Identify all overhead power lines on and around the site.
- Assess risks to any vehicles or equipment operating nearby.
- Implement physical controls — goal posts, barriers or exclusion zones.
- Brief visiting contractors and delivery drivers on hazards before work begins.
- Include overhead line risks in site inductions and method statements.
Laptop & Display Screen Equipment (DSE) Safety
As hybrid and remote working has become the norm, employees are spending more time on laptops without appropriate workstation setups — bringing their own set of risks. Common issues include neck and upper back pain, wrist and forearm strain, eye strain and longer-term posture problems.
Under the Display Screen Equipment (DSE) Regulations, employers have a legal duty to assess workstations used by employees — including home setups and laptop configurations. Where laptops are used for prolonged periods, a separate keyboard, mouse and monitor riser are strongly recommended.
✅ Key Takeaways for Employers
- Review manual handling practices proactively — don’t wait for an HSE inspection.
- Electrical safety goes beyond PAT testing. Assess overhead power lines wherever vehicles operate.
- Visiting contractors are your responsibility while on your premises.
- Review DSE assessments for all staff, including home workers and laptop users.
Need support with risk assessments, staff training or health and safety compliance? Contact Ryder Partnership →