Jacqueline Jeynes MBA, B.Ed(Hons), BA

Federation of Small Businesses, H&S and Risk Management Policy Committee

Title: The impact of European Legislation on Health & Safety in small Firms

Abstract

This paper is based on findings of a research programme for the award of PhD at Aston University, Birmingham England. The research identifies the characteristics of Primary and Secondary interventions aimed at supporting small firms, and tests out their effectiveness. A significant part of the research considers the impact of health and safety legislation on small (up to 50 employees) or micro (up to 10 employees) businesses, and crucially what represents an effective intervention. The competitive pressures exerted on all businesses represent a significant barrier to carrying out field research, and this is compounded further by the inherent characteristics of the target group. During the research period (of around 5 years) external events had an impact on the structure and progress of the work, and there were distinct advantages for the author due to the nature of her work. This included membership of ACSHH and various national government bodies; representing the concerns of small firms nationally and internationally about health and safety regulation; and through dealing directly with a wide range of small firms through her own business.

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