WHY SHOULD WE MANAGE H&S AT WORK?
Whether it is a global pandemic, a new process, product or even a new team we have all faced changes in our work and been forced to adapt to new ways of working
BUT Health and Safety in your workplace MUST remain a priority. Why???
Legal – Moral – Financial
At work, we all have a Legal duty – Employers to protect their Employees and Employees to protect themselves – not forgetting the ‘others’ we refer to such as our visitors, customers and unexpected. This is a very stripped back way of putting it, but there are strict legal obligations and when the government appointed regulators (HSE and Local Authorities) find dangerous activities and behaviours in the workplace, they have legal powers to issue notices – prohibition (to stop activities immediately) improvement (to force changes to prevent incidents/accidents) and the failure to comply with these can result in fines, prosecution and even imprisonment.
Morally it is vital to protect each other and provide a safe working environment where health is not at risk and wellbeing is always considered. Noone comes to work expecting to become hurt or unwell, everyone deserves to go home happy and healthy at the end of the day.
The Financial burden of prosecutions due to breaching H&S Law as mentioned above are not on their own, with intervention by any regulator, comes lost time and resources whilst this is handled – you are paying your team’s salaries while they correct the issues raised and deal with correspondance. Overheads such as sick pay and temporary cover for team members off work due to injury or ill-health all need to be considered. Insurances premiums can often be increased following accidents and incidents at work. Remember you cannot insure against negligence!
All of these have a negative impact on your business reputation, meaning possible difficulties in retaining clients and obtaining new ones. Your team may not perform to the best of their ability where they have witnessed a preventable accident or lack of leadership which results in them feeling vulnerable.
BUT, IT ISN’T ALL DOOM AND GLOOM.
We believe the number of employers who ‘don’t care’ about their staff, their team or their business, is miniscule. And believe it or not, most staff would be happy to contribute to and support new ways of working if they knew it meant things were safer, and in many cases, easier.
There are simple cost-effective solutions to mitigating risk and protecting your people. As with all things health and safety, the measures should be proportionate to the risk, for example – you wouldn’t hire in a ‘cherry-picker’ to inspect the guttering of a single storey building when there is a suitable space and ground conditions to place a ladder.
SO HOW CAN SAFETY FOR HELP?
We understand the law so by learning about you, we can apply the relevant legislation to your workplace and develop procedures and systems proportionate to the risk.
Safety For are a team of H&S professionals with experience in varying sectors, who are here to help people. We work with your team to develop their understanding from the Senior Management, through the daily operational staff to the temporary roles and support team. Your Directors, Managers, workers and Contractors will be given our consideration and tailored support to bring everyone together in a collective effort to improve safety, health and wellbeing for all.
Happy Employees are more productive, encouraged to produce quality and will advertise your business well by conducting themselves in an appropriate manner.
Don’t work on your Health and Safety because you have to, do it because you want to.
Contact us today to find out how we can help you