Arriving with little fanfare, the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 now applies to employers involved in the provision of live or recorded music in restaurants, bars, nightclubs etc, following a two-year period of grace, which expired on 6 April.
Employers are now responsible for protecting their employees' hearing. And that's not all on the legislation front - employers are now also faced with the Corporate Manslaughter Act, which also came into force on 6 April. Bosses are now responsible if their company's negligence results in death in the workplace. The message is this: review your business procedures now, to make sure that you are fulfilling your responsibilities.
The increase in specialist offices opening up in Dubai continues with rigging specialist Unusual opening their own Dubai operation - further evidence that stand-alone dedicated operations are now considered viable in this rapidly growing marketplace. The end of this month sees the PALME exhibition return in Dubai, when there will doubtless be more news of expansion to come. L&SI will be there.
