HSE has advice to help employers ensure there is adequate ventilation in their workplaces during the pandemic. The guidance builds on the requirement to identify and take action in poorly ventilated areas. It includes other factors to consider as part of an assessment to provide adequate ventilation for reducing the risk from aerosol transmission. Areas covered in the expanded guidance include air cleaning and filtration units, and ventilation in vehicles. You should be maximising the fresh air in a space and this can be done by: - natural ventilation which relies on passive air flow through windows, doors and air vents that can be fully or partially opened
- mechanical ventilation using fans and ducts to bring in fresh air from outside, or
- a combination of natural and mechanical ventilation, for example where mechanical ventilation relies on natural ventilation to maximise fresh air
Read the updated guidance and find out how you can provide adequate ventilation in your workplace, helping to protect workers and other people from transmission of coronavirus  HSE's updated web pages explain how employers should manage the health and safety of new mothers and pregnant workers. Employers are responsible for providing a safe working environment while effectively managing risks to the health and safety of all employees through risk assessments. Our guide provides a summary of your duties to protect new and expectant mothers, including: - welfare and rights of new and expectant mothers
- risk assessment for new and expectant mothers
- rest and breastfeeding at work
We also have separate advice for new and expectant mothers themselves. There is specific guidance on protecting pregnant workers during the pandemic | A school has been sentenced after a member of public tripped over a retaining wall and sustained a fatal head injury. A family member attended the school in Cambridge to watch an evening performance. While walking towards the hall, the woman tripped over a small retaining wall and fell to the ground, sustaining a serious head injury. She died six days later in hospital. Read this press release for full details on this prosecution. Other recent enforcement news includes:  With this being Stress Awareness Month, it is a timely reminder that employers have a legal duty to protect employees from stress at work by doing a risk assessment and acting on it. The earlier a problem is tackled, the less impact it will have. If you already have a risk assessment in place, consider whether you need to reassess the situation due to changes and challenges brought about by COVID-19. Social distancing, working from home and all the other safeguards that have been put in place may have increased existing causes of stress or created new ones. HSE has a range of practical support and guidance available including risk assessment templates, talking toolkits to help start conversations, workbooks, posters, a new mobile app and a new automated stress indicator tool (SIT) that is free for up to 50 employees. For more information visit the stress section of HSE's website. | Our noise exposure calculator helps you to estimate and record workers' exposures to noise and compare them with the exposure action and limit values in the Regulations as part of a noise risk assessment. It combines the previous daily and weekly exposure calculator in one, with separate tabs to help simplify the process. More importantly, it also provides advice on actions that should be taken when certain action values are exceeded. A new exposure limit value calculator takes into account the attenuation provided by the hearing protection worn when compared with the exposure limit value. Advice is also given on the suitability of hearing protection provided in relation to attenuation. The revised calculator can be accessed on our noise website.  Develop a career at HSE and help to protect lives and livelihoods. For details of the highlighted opportunities, follow the links below: For a look at all our available vacancies, please visit this webpage. | | 
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