a steel worker with sparks flying
First place – Christopher Draper from Herefordshire
A little girl looking at a parent after an accident
Second place – Michael Hall from Monmouthshire
syringes and dangerous substances
Third place – Phil Morcom from Yorkshire
A man wearing full PPE
Highly commended – Carrie Baldwinson from Lincolnshire

Their work has been displayed at a five day exhibition at the People’s History Museum in Manchester.

Health and safety legislation is vital to the wellbeing of millions of people across the UK. It protects us all. Yet some employers fail to recognise its importance and instead brand it as needless ‘red tape’. This simply isn’t the case.

At Thompsons Solicitors, we are committed to campaigning alongside trade unions for improved safety standards in the workplace. We want to ensure that employee health and safety doesn’t take a backseat, remains a priority for all employers, and that staff wellbeing is properly protected.

For more than 90 years, we have fought to ensure employers, wherever they may be, in all sectors, are held accountable for placing workers at risk of serious injury – sometimes even death. Our commitment to working people has seen Thompsons Solicitors win numerous landmark cases and we have also played an integral role in the creation of new laws to protect the rights of workers across the UK, such as the 1974 Health and Safety Act.

For International Worker’s Memorial Day 2017, Thompsons Solicitors is encouraging trade union members to participate in a new photography competition, Focus: on safety at work, to help reinforce the importance of health and safety in the workplace.

Health and safety comes in many forms, and it’s vital that we do not forget that even in the 21st century working environment, people continue to be put at risk of death, serious injury and occupational illnesses.

But we want to know what health and safety means to you. That’s why Thompsons Solicitors is encouraging trade union members to submit one photograph that captures health and safety in its truest form - from wet floors, loose cables and unstable paving stones, to not wearing a hard hat or other protective gear.

All submissions will be reviewed by a panel of judges with £5,000 worth of prizes up for grabs. The winner will also have the honour of their work being exhibited at the Manchester’s People’s History Museum.

Thompsons Solicitors is determined to ensure protections and regulations around health and safety are upheld to make our workplaces as safe as possible. Your image should show why this commitment is so important, and why health and safety should never be seen as unnecessary.

ABOUT THOMPSONS SOLICITORS

Since 1921, Thompsons Solicitors has campaigned for safer working environments and helped tens of thousands of trade union members to secure personal injury compensation after suffering workplace injuries.

Click to learn more about Thompsons Solicitors’ campaigns.

Read more about Thompsons Solicitors and our pledge to you.