Posted By Peter Younger My company have recently branched out into Northern Ireland, and also have outlets in Scotland, and I am wondering if my present safety policy etc is suitable for these locations, as there are some differences in safety law in Scotland and Ireland. Any advice? many thanks.

Posted By Laurie Can't speak for Ulster, but the Scottish Executive have signed a concordat with HSE and while there may be minor procedural differences e.g. the Regulatory Reform Order system currently being used to consolidate fire safety legislation is not used in Scotland, in the main there are no differences, HSE and EMAS both having offices in Scotland. The only major noticeable difference is that in Scotland offences are normally prosecuted by the Procurator Fiscal, not by HSE. You may, however, wish to note that you are twice as likely to be killed at work in Scotland than you are in England & Wales, which is something I, for one, would like to see changed Laurie

Posted By Graham Bullough Ron Young's comment about the Woolf Reforms reminds me of a comment some of my Scottish friends occasionally make, which is something like "in Scotland we usually do things differently - and usually do it better!"