Coronavirus: Boris Johnson under fire over promised workplace inspections as physical checks paused due to pandemic

Union says majority of spot checks will be done by phone rather than in person

Boris Johnson is facing fresh criticism over plans to protect workers from the coronavirus after it emerged that physical safety inspections of workplaces during the pandemic have been halted.

The prime minister told MPs last week that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) would carry out spot checks in offices, building sites and food outlets to ensure that people are kept safe from the virus as they return to work.

But his promise was called into doubt when the HSE said it had suspended physical inspections in March in order to protect its staff and no date had been set for checks to resume.

The Prospect union, whose members work at the HSE, said the majority of spot checks will be done by phone, bringing into question the effectiveness of the inspections.

Mike Clancy, the union’s general secretary, said: “Last week the government said that HSE would be conducting spot checks on businesses before they reopen for business. It seems that it neglected to check if HSE would actually be able to visit businesses while keeping its own workers safe.

“Prospect members in HSE, who have been working throughout this crisis, have indicated that initially the majority of spot checks will be done via telephone rather than visits, which raises questions as to their effectiveness.”

Mr Johnson told MPs last Monday that the government was going to insist that businesses across the country “look after their workers and are Covid-secure and Covid-compliant”.

Responding to a question from Labour MP Chi Onwurah in the Commons, Mr Johnson said: “The Health and Safety Executive will be enforcing it and we will have spot inspections to make sure that businesses are keeping their employees safe.”

However, when asked by the i newspaper about the spot inspections, an HSE spokesperson said: “In line with government guidance to cease all but essential work that cannot be done outside of the home, minimising contact between individuals, HSE has paused all proactive inspections at this time to reduce any risk posed to our own staff and to members of the public.”

The watchdog later issued another statement, saying: “The PM was right to talk about spot checks as something that’s being looked at, moving forward.

“It is true that there was a pause during our active inspections during the lockdown, but we’ve already stated that plans to enhance our regulatory approach further to the new Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy guidance and the additional funding are being developed.”

The revelation sparked anger from Labour and trade unions amid deep concerns about how to keep workers safe as the lockdown eases.

Andy McDonald, the shadow secretary for employment rights, said: “Health-and-safety law is only as good as its enforcement.

“The PM claimed there’ll be workplace inspections, but those have stopped and a decade of cuts has left too few people in the job.

“Workers must know how their health will be protected when they return to work outside home.”

Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said: “Self-policing is just spin for no policing.

“Employers must take full responsibility for staff safety, conducting and publishing risk assessments, and meeting the new safety guidelines.

“But they should also be subject to spot checks and penalties to incentivise compliance.”

The government recently allocated an additional £14m to the HSE to allow it to carry out spot checks, but the cash boost came after its funding was slashed from £239m in 2009-10 to £135m in 2017-18.

Staffing levels at the government agency also fell dramatically over the same period, from 3,702 to 2,501, while the number of inspectors dropped from 1,495 to 978, according to figures from the House of Commons library.