The UK’s health and safety laws are ‘not in conformity’ with its international legal obligations, a major review has concluded.

The findings are particularly critical of the impact of a UK government move in 2015 that exempted many self-employed workers from the Health and Safety at Work Act. “At the time the TUC ran a strong campaign to try to stop it. We pointed out that it would be confusing, and down-right dangerous,” says TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson.

The TUC was not alone; safety and employers’ organisations were highly critical. “Well this week, two and a half years later, the UK decision has been looked at by the European Committee of Social Rights, the monitoring body of the 47-nation Council of Europe and it is pretty damning,” notes Robertson.

The report concludes “the situation in the United Kingdom is not in conformity” with the European Social Charter “on the ground that all self-employed and domestic workers are not covered by the occupational health and safety regulations.”

The charter states: “All workers have the right to safe and healthy working conditions,” and spells out how there must be regulations and enforcement to ensure that. According to TUC’s Hugh Robertson, despite “a clear ruling that the government is not in compliance with a legally binding charter that they have signed up to,” in the absence of any charter enforcement mechanism it is unlikely anything will change for the better. He warns that post-Brexit “the only protection we are likely to have is that afforded by International regulations like those of the Council of Europe and the ILO [International Labour Organisation]. However, they already made it clear that they are not going to make the Charter of Social Rights enforceable and, of the 13 ILO conventions on health and safety, Britain has ratified 3, and even they are not directly enforceable in the UK courts.”