Health and safety of gig economy workers among highlights of upcoming conference

The issue of health and safety of workers in the rapidly growing gig economy will be addressed at an upcoming conference for environmental health professionals.

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) Health and Safety Conference 2025 takes place online on Wednesday, 19 March and will feature a wide-ranging programme of speakers presenting on a variety of issues impacting the work in this area.

Among the speakers will be Adrian Simpson, Head of Policy and Press at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), analysing the safety and health of workers in the gig economy, activity where people earn income providing on-demand work, services or goods.

This is an expanding area of workforce in the UK with the continual launch of new apps and digital platforms offering on-demand services; however regulations protecting workers have not always kept up pace with this growth.

Another highlight of the conference will be a case study investigating organisations involved in the Fishmongers’ Hall terrorist attack in 2019 and the outcomes, presented by Toby Thorp, Environmental Health Officer for the City of London.

Other presentations during the half-day conference will be a keynote focus on workforce capacity from Paul Spurrier, Head of Local Authority Team at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Tara Joe, Public Affairs Manager at Electrical Safety First on whether the new Government safety campaign on lithium batteries will be effective.

Nikki Pearson, Head of Events and Membership Engagement at CIEH, said:

“The programme for our 2025 Health and Safety Conference is packed full of really interesting topics and speakers covering a wide array of topics impacting the area of health and safety and the work of environmental health professionals.

“The conference is open to both members and non-members and will offer hugely useful insights and I’m sure spark some lively debate making it an event not to be missed for anyone with an interest in this area.”

For the full programme and to book a place visit: https://www.cieh.org/events/2025/march/cieh-health-and-safety-conference/