Managers, did you know that many of you are not providing adequate health and safety in the workplace and that it is your legal obligation to do so?
No matter what type of employment you offer, be it adminstrative, engineering, manufacturing, retail etc, and no matter what size, you are bound by law to provide a duty of care to your employees and to any other person who may be affected by your activities.
In fact, if you have 5 or more employees you are also required to have a written Health and Safety policy and documented risk assessments. This is not open to negotiation - IT IS REQUIRED BY LAW! The Management Regs 1999 state that you must not only assess the risks within your workplace but also that you must control, monitor and review them.
Many managers, directors and board members are unaware of the responsibility they hold when it comes to Health and Safety, they often pay lip service to the issue and are ignorant to the fact that they may be held personally liable when duties are breached. In the case of board members this may be as a collective measure or on an individual basis.
You only need to look at the
Health and Safety Executives Enforcement Notice register or the local press to see the many companies who have breached safety legislation. Many of whom may be in the same industry as yourself and didn't realise the costs involved with not taking adequate health and safety measures.
Once the initial set up is in place within your workplace, health and safety needn't be a burden. Small daily or weekly tasks can be implemented by communicating with and involving the whole workforce. The benefits of performing such simple measures such as reduced insurance premiums, better reputation, increased productivity, reduced staff absences will far outweigh the negatives.
Act today before the unthinkable happens.
Rachel Griffiths
Progressive Safety Solutions Ltd
