Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what health and safety regulations are in place to protect workers' rights in clothing factories; and what assessment they have made of the adherence to those regulations of clothing factories in Leicester.

All workers in the textiles industry, including those working in clothing factories, have the right to work in a safe environment and are afforded protection under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and associated Regulations.

Health and Safety legislation requires employers to carry out an assessment of the risks to which their employees could be exposed to and implement measures to control the risks to ensure employees are not harmed whilst at work. Specific regulatory requirements are placed upon employers, ranging from machinery safety to lifting and manual handling, dependent upon the work activity being undertaken. Workers also have the right to be provided with adequate welfare and first aid provisions and the right level of information, instruction and training to enable them to carry out their work safely.

The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) website (at https://www.hse.gov.uk/textiles/index.htm) provides specific advice for textile businesses on the precautions required in the workplace generally and during the current Covid-19 pandemic.

HSE has been working alongside other government departments across a range of sectors following up reports and concerns about safety in the workplace and COVID-19 restrictions.

Throughout the pandemic, HSE has actively engaged with businesses, including clothing manufacturers, by site visits and phone calls, investigating reports from those raising concerns, assessing compliance with health and safety law, and using guidance such as that published about social distancing from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19) to ensure businesses are adhering to requirements.

Specifically, since the lockdown, in Leicester HSE has inspected 34 textile businesses to assess compliance with health and safety legislation. Enforcement action has been taken at 8 of these premises and further enforcement action is being considered where non-compliance with COVID-19 risk controls has been found.

HSE will continue to regulate workplaces by carrying out proactive spot checks over the coming weeks to ensure that appropriate measures are in place to protect workers from COVID-19. In Leicester, HSE has prioritised these spot checks in the textile industry and will take enforcement action to secure compliance where businesses cannot demonstrate they are taking all reasonable steps to make their workplace COVID secure. HSE will also continue to respond to reports of concerns raised.

(Footnote – It is usual to provide documents when web links are used in Parliamentary Questions but during the COVID – 19 outbreak Government Departments have used interactive websites that allow stakeholders to access a wide range of guidance that is relevant to their situation. These sites have content pages that link to other sites and documents.)