Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

Location: Liverpool (Bootle) or Buxton

Number of placements: 1

Salary: £26,000 gross annual

Working arrangements: Full time, fixed-term contract

Team / Directorate: Economic and Social Analysis Team

Background

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for regulating risks generated by work to people and the environment in Great Britain. These risks include major industrial accidents and explosions, life-changing injury and occupational cancer. 

Current and recent issues in the news that fall within HSE’s regulatory remit include:

• Regulating emerging technology sectors, such as AI, hydrogen and Net Zero

• How to keep high-rise buildings safe following the Grenfell Tower fire

• Protecting workers’ mental health during labour market shifts, such as gig working

• Maintaining Great Britain’s record as a world-leader in the protection of workers from immediate injury and long-latency illnesses, like cancer 

HSE is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions and employs over 2,500 staff.

HSE’s Economic and Social Analysis Team (ESAT) is based in Redgrave Court, a purpose-built headquarters 10 minutes from Liverpool city centre; and at the HSE laboratory in Buxton.  Economists work within the HSE Science Division alongside other analysts e.g. statisticians and social researchers, getting involved in strategy, policy analysis, operational planning and corporate support.

Economics in HSE

Health and safety regulation affects the entire population, both those at work and those affected (or potentially affected) by work activities. As an HSE economist, you will deal with a wide range of questions every day.  For example:

• What are the labour market effects of new health and safety at work regulations?  

• How much does it cost to reduce the number of occupational cancers? 

• What value can we place on the safety of the UK’s oil refineries and chemical plants? 

• What is the cost of a case of work-related injury or illness? 

• What are the effects of a recession on health and safety outcomes?

You will play a crucial role in determining the appropriate type and level of government intervention in response to workplace death, injury and ill health.  The work you produce will be at the forefront of debates concerning risk control and better regulation.

ESAT is part of Science Division, which also includes social researchers, statisticians, engineers, medical doctors and other specialists. You will be working in a team that currently consists of seven economists and five social researchers. 

The team provides excellent opportunities for you to be exposed to high-profile work and senior staff in HSE. You will have the opportunity for both on-the-job and more formal training on economic estimation, research and project management both within HSE and as part of cross-government events.

Examples of work undertaken by HSE economists

• Estimating the costs and benefits of changes to legislation to support Ministerial decision-making and the design of interventions to prevent injury and ill health caused by work 

• Providing evidence and advice to guide HSE’s long-term strategy; and on high-profile policy areas such as Brexit and the development of the Building Safety Regulator.

• Producing cost estimates of the impacts of work-related injury and illness, such as fatal injury, mental ill health and cancer, including methods to produce monetised estimates of the ‘human costs’ of pain, grief and suffering 

• Evaluating whether existing government interventions meet their policy objectives and should be retained or modified

• Collaborating with social researchers, occupational hygienists, engineers, medics, statisticians and many other specialists in the design and implementation of research 

• Providing advice to senior government decision-makers on the uses of incentives and behavioural economics

• Taking the lead on cross-Governmental and international work on the uses of economic techniques and evidence to support the prevention of injury and ill health caused by work, including work with the EU, OECD and other international risk agencies

Competencies

You will need to be able to demonstrate the following competencies:

Micro-economic knowledge and analytical skills

Health and safety regulations affect product and labour markets in GB, including impacts on productivity and competitiveness.  You will need an understanding of the relevant microeconomics for analysis of the impact of regulation on firms and markets. 

Communication skills

You will work with economists, other analysts and non-technical colleagues, presenting information and writing reports.  It is therefore essential that you can communicate economic concepts and the results of economic analysis, clearly and consistently through a variety of means.

Team working

You will collaborate with social researchers, statisticians, technical experts, policy and operational colleagues to achieve good quality outputs.  Strong team working skills are therefore essential.

Initiative and drive for results

You will need to be a self-starter, who can take the lead when required and use his or her own initiative to progress matters when appropriate to produce high quality results.

Applications

For more information on the HSE position, please email kyran.donald@hse.gov.uk

Eligibility Requirements

Candidates will need to hold the right to work in the UK and meet Civil Service Nationality Rules.

Nationality 

• Be a national of the UK, Commonwealth or Republic of Ireland or a European Economic Area (EEA) or Turkish national with a right to live and work in the UK   

• If a holder of a student visa – be allowed under the conditions of the visa to undertake a full-time paid sandwich placement in the UK without a work permit. 

• To be eligible for employment in the UK Civil Service applicants must meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules which operate independently and additionally to the UK Immigration Rules. Applicants must also meet necessary security and vetting requirements, along with any other relevant pre-employment checks. 

• As from 1 January 2021 broadly the following groups may be eligible to work in non-reserved posts within the Civil Service: 

• UK nationals 

• Nationals of Commonwealth countries 

• Nationals of the Republic of Ireland 

• EEA nationals with (or eligible for) status under the EUSS 

• Relevant EEA or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service 

• Relevant EEA or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service 

• Certain family members of the relevant EU & Turkish nationals. 

Further guidance on Civil Service Nationality Rules and changes from 1 January 2021 can be found here. 

Applicants who have visa status must ensure they include all the details of their visa status in the application. If successful at sift, you will be asked at a later date to provide a copy of your visa that demonstrates that the visa covers the period of the placement.

Please note: Visa students do not meet the criteria for doing an Economic Assessment Centre (EAC) at the end of their placement and will not be offered an EAC at the end of their placement. 

Please note: We do not offer sponsorships for our schemes.