Health and Safety
Executive / Commission
Local authority circulars
To: Health and Safety Enforcing Authorities
For the attention of: Local Authority Health and Safety Enforcement Managers, Health and Safety Regulators and others
1. Hairdressers and beauticians have been identified as occupational groups with high incidence rates of work-related dermatitis, and thus are at a greater than average risk of developing work-related contact dermatitis. The aim of this project is to build on the awareness-raising initiative, ‘Bad Hand Day?’ to change behaviour among hairdressers and beauticians, by continuing to promote the adoption of good practice controls through the provision of information and advice, and by taking enforcement action, where necessary. This may involve return visits to salons visited/contacted in 2006/07 and 2007/08 to check if appropriate control measures have been put in place; and/or new visits to salons not already contacted, to raise awareness of dermatitis and offer advice on good practice. Where re-visits have shown no progress in terms of identifying and controlling the risks of dermatitis, enforcement action may be appropriate. Guidance on this, along with background information on dermatitis and its causes will be included in the revised Dermatitis Topic Inspection Pack http://www.hse.gov.uk/foi/internalops/fod/inspect/dermatitis.pdf [240KB] 
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2. This activity is part of the Skin Disease Project within HSE’s Disease Reduction Programme (DRP). The DRP aims to contribute to the FIT3 ill health reduction targets by achieving a 2.4% reduction in the incidence of chemically induced ill health. The Skin Disease Project aims to achieve a 10% reduction in the incidence of work related contact dermatitis by 2007/8 compared with 2003/4.
3. It is estimated that there are over 8,400 new cases of work-related contact dermatitis each year in the UK. Hairdressers and beauticians have been identified as occupational groups with high incidence rates of work-related dermatitis, and thus are at a greater than average risk of developing work-related contact dermatitis. Between 2004 and 2006, the average rate of work-related dermatitis amongst hairdressers was 116 per 100,000 and 75 per 100,000 for beauticians. This compares to the all industry average of 6 per 100,000 workers. However, these figures are likely to be a significant under-estimate of the true scale of the problem, as only the most severe cases get reported to a specialist physician. One source estimates that between 42-57% hairdressers will develop dermatitis and up to 70% will suffer some form of skin damage at some stage in their career.
4. The main causes of work-related contact dermatitis in hairdressers are exposure to some of the chemicals present in hairdressing products and frequent wet work, rinsing and shampooing of hair; for beauticians it is the chemicals used in the products, e.g. acrylates and solvents.
5. Inspectors are asked to visit hairdressing and (where appropriate) beauty premises, to continue to raise awareness of causes of work-related contact dermatitis within the industry and to advise on good practice and how to control for and prevent the condition. In premises already visited or contacted in 2006/07 or 2007/08, where no effort has been made to adopt good control practice, despite awareness of and presence of health risks, enforcement action may be considered.
6. In addition, where work has been done already with local Further Education colleges, it may also be appropriate to continue this, at individual LA’s discretion. If any engagement or involvement with FE colleges is planned for 2008/09, again we would ask you to liaise with the HSE local area office so that visits are co-ordinated with HSE activity and so there is no duplication of effort.
7. HSE, in partnership with Habia, have developed a dermatitis training module to form part of a teaching support pack for colleges. This module has been sent to all Habia-affiliated colleges and is downloadable from the Habia website.
8. We also have limited stocks of the ‘Bad Hand Day?’ campaign packs – the packs will contain the following campaign collateral:
9. If you would like packs for your visits, or if you are running an event and would like packs for this, you can order directly from HSE Books (quoting reference MISC756), PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 2WA; tel 01787 881165; fax 01787 313995; or email: hsebooks@prolog.uk.com. Please provide the name of your Local Authority, the number of packs you require, the name of the individual who is to receive the order, the full delivery address including postcode, a contact telephone number and an email address. Because we have limited stock, if you require more than 25 packs, please send full details by fax or email to David Dawick on 0151 951 4740 or dave.dawick@hse.gsi.gov.uk. Please note that as there is only limited availability, they will be distributed on a first come-first served basis.
10. Some Occupational Health Inspector (OHI) resource has been set aside within HSE to support potential enforcement activity. OHIs are inspectors who specialise in occupational health and support LA and HSE Inspectors when they consider that specialist knowledge is required. Access to this support can be obtained through existing local arrangements, typically the Enforcement Liaison Officer or Partnership Team.
11. Premises should be targeted on basis of:
12. This initiative is planned for April 2008 – March 2009.
13. When planning and implementing work within the Fit3 programme it is essential to feedback details of activities and outcomes. This is to allow monitoring of progress towards the Disease Reduction Programme (DRP) objectives and where necessary to refocus work activities and to consider the adequacy of current support. Feedback also provides invaluable information for the Health and Safety Commission/HSE & LA Enforcement Liaison Committee/Local Authority Unit when responding to Ministers and the Local Better Regulation Office (LBRO) on the achievements of the LA/HSE partnership in delivering the DRP and the Fit3 programme in general.
14. Please use one or more of the following ways to record your activities and achievements both quantitatively and qualitatively:
15. The Disease Reduction Programme team delivered training for Local Authority Inspectors on work-related contact dermatitis in May 2006. Please refer to this for information on dermatitis and its prevention. More information is also available in the Dermatitis Topic Inspection Pack. Both the training material and Topic Inspection Pack can be found on the DRP/Skin Disease Project pages of the HELA Extranet. If you have other specific training needs, please contact Catherine Boyle (contact details below).
16. This initiative ties in with the ‘Bad Hand Day?’ campaign, which was launched in November 2006 to raise awareness of work-related dermatitis in hairdressers. The evaluation of this campaign has shown that it has been extremely effective. A summary of the evaluation is available on the Extranet.
17. The topic packs on Migrant Working, Duty to Manage Asbestos and Worker Consultation and Involvement may be relevant and useful when engaging with this sector, and also the Diversity & Delivery pages on the intranet.
18. Further information can be obtained from Catherine Boyle (0151 951 4186); skinproject@hse.gsi.gov.uk
The following circulars and guidance have links to this circular: