IPAF backs campaign to save work at height laws

The International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) has given its backing to the Access Industry Forum’s (AIF) campaign to save UK Work at Height safety regulations, which are set to be repealed as part of a ‘bonfire of EU laws’ by the end of 2023.

Peter Douglas

The AIF, of which IPAF is a member, has given evidence to the UK’s House of Commons Public Bill Committee, currently considering the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, urging it to recommend excluding Work at Height Regulations from repeal.

IPAF is joining with fellow AIF members in support of the Save the Work at Height Regulations campaign. Peter Douglas, CEO & managing director of IPAF, said, “The Work at Height Regulations are a key part of ensuring employers realise, understand and discharge statutory responsibilities to keep their employees safe in the workplace.

“IPAF and the AIF support the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) of UK MPs inquiring into workplace falls from height, which gathered evidence that shows there are a significant number of people suffering injuries or being killed by work-related falls – still the most common type of workplace accident in the UK today.

Douglas added, “It seems counter-intuitive to just jettison laws designed to help keep people safe while working at height without proper industry consultation or parliamentary scrutiny, so rather than remove the existing legislation from the statute books altogether, we support the AIF in its call to exclude current Work at Height laws from repeal.”