Making a complaint about a workplace in Newham

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If you wish to make a complaint about health, safety or welfare conditions in a workplace, please contact us.

Our team will investigate your complaint and the investigation will have two main aims:

to identify and prevent risk to public health and safety
to investigate possible health and safety offences

Please have full details ready of the premises concerned when you contact the health and safety team.

What should I expect from the Health & Safety team after my complaint?

We aim to:

assess all enquiries and complaints about occupational health and safety regarding allocated workplaces within one working day of receipt. We will then respond by telephone or in writing (or appointment if necessary) within the following timescales:

- urgent requests where there is a serious and imminent risk of injury will be responded to within one working day
- non-urgent service requests will be responded to within seven working days
investigate and visit workplace facilities within one working day, unless there is a compelling reason not to do so
investigate non-fatal workplace accidents where these are serious or show a pattern of poor health and safety management. We will begin investigations within 7 working days of enquiry
assess and register skin piercers that meet the legal standard within 10 working days of receipt of application.

Some workplaces will be the responsibility of the Health and Safety Executive, rather than the council, according to the nature of the work carried out. We can advise you who the relevant 'enforcing authority' for health and safety purposes is, when you contact us. If you make a complaint about a workplace, we will require your name, address and contact details so that we can keep you informed of our progress.

What happens first?

We will contact you to confirm details of your complaint with you provide you with an initial assessment of your complaint and give you details of how to keep in touch with us. Newham Council does not deal with all Health and Safety matters. It may therefore be necessary for us to refer you to another enforcement body such as the Health and Safety Executive. We will do our best to give you details to contact them direct.

Further Information we need from you

When we contact you we may ask for additional information.

We need to know:

where and when the unsafe conditions/accident occurred
how you discovered the cause for complaint
whether there were/are any other people affected
how the unsafe conditions or accident affected you (for example, were you injured or ill)
as your complaint could lead to prosecution, we may sometimes ask you and other witnesses to provide statements.

How do we investigate your complaint?

We will not always visit the premises you have complained about. After speaking to you and making an initial assessment we may decide to phone the premises and ask them to rectify the matter you are complaining about.

If we feel it is necessary we will visit the premises you are complaining about to attempt to witness the matter being complained about. If we judge that health and safety legislation is being breached, we will ensure the issue is rectified.

If we visit the premises and judge that all relevant health and safety legislation is being complied with, we can not legally require any improvements at the premises. We may be able to make suggestions for improvement but these are not enforceable.

How long does an investigation take?

The time taken to investigate a complaint will vary, ranging from a few days to many months. Cases that result in a formal caution or prosecution can take over a year to complete.

What are the likely outcomes of your complaint?

The main aim of any complaint investigation is to make sure that unsafe conditions are made safe. The complaint investigation will also establish whether any health and safety offence has been committed.
If we have sufficient evidence to prove that an offence has been committed, we will consider the following issues in deciding whether to take any further legal action:

the seriousness of the offence and the nature of any injuries or ill health suffered as a result and the likely penalty
the steps taken to avoid the unsafe conditions/accident
whether anyone has been negligent
the likelihood of the offender re-offending
your views

You will be told about the outcome of the investigation and the investigating officer will explain to you the reasons behind the final decision in your case.

We will keep your identity strictly confidential. Sometimes a business may want to apologise, in these cases we will only reveal your identity if you give your consent.

Claiming compensation

The health and safety team cannot give you advice about your right to compensation. You would need to take independent legal advice regarding this. The Citizens Advice Bureau can provide further information regarding your legal rights.

Contact the Health and Safety Team

Address:
Health and Safety Enforcement
3rd Floor West Wing
London Borough of Newham
Newham Dockside
1000 Dockside Road
London
E16 2QU

Telephone: 020 8430 2000
Textphone: 020 8430 2412
Fax: 020 8430 4434
Email: health.safety@newham.gov.uk