Employers 'must not let health and safety slip in recession'

Health and safety in the workplace cannot be allowed to slip because
of the recession, a minister has warned.

Lord McKenzie of Luton, the health and safety minister, explained that
there has been little change in the injury and death rates in the UK
over the last six years.

However, he stressed that this did not mean the Health and Safety
Executive would be taking a more relaxed stance to the issue during
the current economic downturn.

Speaking at the Institution of Occupational Health and Safety 2009
conference he said: "Skimping on health and safety is wrong - the
financial and reputational consequences can be severe."

The Independent recently noted that a report published by the American
Journal of Epidemiology has suggested that working for long hours
could be damaging to people's health.

Middle-aged employees doing over 55 hours a week were found to be less
mentally alert than those doing 41 hours.