British Safety Council

🔎 The question isn't whether we need to protect workers from silica 🔎

We do.

The question is: how do we make sure our solution actually works?

A ban on high-silica engineered stone can protect workers in the UK, but an overnight ban risks market instability.

That's why our Hidden Hazards campaign is calling for a comprehensive approach:

🛡️ Immediate stronger workplace protections
🚫 A phased transition to an outright ban
🌍 Import and export controls
🛒 Safer consumer choices
🏪 Retailers moving towards safer alternatives

We need a clear and predictable pathway that gives industry time to adapt, while keeping worker protection at its heart.

Because the goal isn't simply to manage the risk.

It's to eliminate it.

🫁 A safer future for workers starts with action today, and a clear endpoint: an outright ban on high-silica engineered stone within five years.

https://ow.ly/p6o950ZFYfm

💡 "By aligning employee capability with organisational outcomes, businesses can improve resilience, productivity and workforce wellbeing simultaneously."

Our Audit, Consultancy & Culture Change Director, Ian Cooke, recently contributed an insightful article to HR News on 'designing work for humans: addressing mental health challenges in the workplace'.

🔗 https://ow.ly/65ol50ZF39a

Psychosocial risk is no longer just a wellbeing issue - it's a business and compliance issue.

Join our free webinar, Designing healthier workplaces: setting the conditions for success, to explore how organisations can move beyond reactive wellbeing initiatives and take a proactive approach to managing psychosocial risks.

We'll cover:
✔️ The organisational factors behind stress and burnout
✔️ The WHO Healthy Workplace Model
✔️ Practical guidance from the British Safety Council Five Star Wellbeing Framework and ISO 45003

📅 Thursday 27 August 2026
🕙 10:00 AM BST

Register now: https://ow.ly/XBvC50ZvMNn

📢 Today we call on the UK Government to go further in protecting workers from the risks associated with high-concentration silica containing materials and, within five years, introduce a ban on high-silica products from entering or leaving the UK.

📋 This call comes as new research British Safety Council has conducted with more than 2000 workers reveals that nearly two-thirds are concerned about the risks which cutting stone containing silica poses to health.

Mike Robinson, Chief Executive of British Safety Council, said: “That beautiful quartz worktop in your kitchen may be costing more than you think. We want people to stop and think; is it worth killing the person who made it? Every cut, every drill, every grind releases dust so small you cannot see it. But once it reaches the lungs, the damage is permanent. These are not accidents, these are preventable deaths, so how many lives is a new kitchen worktop worth?"

🔗 https://ow.ly/y2O950ZBR4s

🛒 Our choices can shape safer workplaces 🛒

The demand for high-silica engineered stone doesn't disappear overnight, but consumers, retailers and industry can all help drive change.

Choosing lower and no-silica alternatives can help reduce demand for products that put workers at risk during fabrication.

And when demand changes, markets change too.

Our Hidden Hazards campaign is calling for a phased transition towards an outright ban on high-silica engineered stone, alongside stronger protections for workers today.

🫁 Safer choices can help create safer workplaces 🫁

https://ow.ly/uXo750ZAKwN

🔥 TRENDING NOW: Workplace temperature

The UK is in the middle of another extreme heatwave, with temperatures reaching 38°C this week.

But while we're all talking about keeping cool at home, what about keeping people safe at work?

🌡️ Heat can affect comfort, performance, physical ability and cognitive function – creating real health and safety risks.

Our Workplace Temperature course helps employees understand the risks of working in hot and cold environments, recognise early warning signs of heat and cold stress, and understand practical ways to reduce thermal risks.

👉 Help your people stay safe, whatever the temperature.

Find out more about Workplace Temperature: https://ow.ly/vaQx50ZzLMG

🌍 The risk doesn't disappear. It moves.

If a UK ban on engineered stone doesn’t include trade controls, the risk simply moves to workers we may never see.

🫁 Worker safety shouldn't stop at the border 🫁

That's why protecting British workers must go hand in hand with protecting workers globally.

Our Hidden Hazards campaign is calling for an outright ban on high-silica engineered stone, alongside import and export controls to ensure we don't simply shift the risk elsewhere.

Click to read more: https://ow.ly/4hwh50ZwrnI