The health and safety of a company’s employees is one of the most important issues facing modern businesses, from a financial as well as wellbeing standpoint. With this in mind, as a small business owner or operations manager of a larger company you may well have considered whether or not to recruit a full time health and safety specialist to your team – but is it worth it? The experts at Tranter Cleere Solicitors take you through it.
Taking due diligence
Due diligence when it comes to health and safety (demonstrating that you have done as much as you can to avoid accidents involving your employees) is a key part of the argument should a member of your staff ever become involved in an accident at work. Keeping an accident book which is updated with all accidents that take place, providing regular and adequate training, and putting in place effective signage and processes are all parts of the puzzle – and so is employing a dedicated health and safety operative.
Ensure Adequate H&S Management
With so many considerations regarding your company’s health and safety it could be too much for someone to handle who wasn’t dedicated to it 100% of the time. My hiring a health & safety manager you can ensure that training, processes and reporting are all dealt with, and that you have one point of contact for all H&S issues and questions.
What’s the Nature of Your Business?
Of course how much you need a dedicated health and safety officer will depend largely on the nature of your business. In a factory and warehouse environment we’d say that it was absolutely essential, however even in a small office of just a handful of employees accidents can still happen – and it is vital that should they occur you are properly prepared.
Regardless of what industry your company operates in, there are certain legal obligations you face as an employer, and the best way to understand and cater for these is to employ a health and safety specialist.
Unsure of what to do?
The best course of action for a UK-based business who is not sure of their legal obligations is to get in touch with the Health & Safety Executive. They can provide free and impartial advice on everything to do with health and safety in the workplace, either in low-risk businesses or for high risk industries.
What steps does your business or employer take when it comes to health and safety? Let us know in the comments section below.
This guest blog was written by John Rooney on behalf of Tranter Cleere Solicitors, a UK-based accident at work specialist firm with over 25 years of experience.
