BUSINESSES in Worcester will now be able to keep up-to-date with health and safety law thanks to a new booklet.

The 52-page Guide to Health and Safety, produced by the city council's environmental health team, spells out the crucial ins-and-outs of health and safety legislation and is geared towards helping managers and directors identify whether or not they are complying with the law.

Environmental health manager Martin Gillies believes the publication will also assist firms in controlling and improving health and safety at work.

"While the responsibility for health and safety at work lies with individual businesses, we actively aim to help local companies stay abreast of the law," he said.

"Small firms in particular often have limited resources for dealing with health and safety issues, and the guide is just one of the initiatives we've hit on to protect the health, safety and welfare not only of employees, but also of customers and visitors to workplaces in Worcester."

Mr Gillies added the updated version of a the guide follows a recent case in Worcester Crown Court in which a city businessman was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay costs of over £18,000 for breaches of health and safety legislation.

"While not many breaches of health and safety locally are as serious as that particular case it clearly indicated that health and safety at work is a serious issue carrying with it potentially crippling penalties for ignoring what are often quite simple procedures," he added.

"It's these that we're aiming to outline and clarify."

Topics covered in the free handbook include H&S policy, training, law relating to manual handling, use of VDU screens, personal protective equipment, provision and use of work equipment, lifting equipment and working time regulations.

The handbook is available from the city council's Health and Safety Unit, Environmental Health Division, Farrier House, Worcester WR1 3ES, or by calling 01905 722213.