It is advised that you put up warning signs that illustrate a hazard so that people will know to take precautions when using equipment or entering a certain place in the premises. For example, a sign that warns people they are using electrical equipment so that they are cautious when using it.  See the images on the pages for examples.

3. Warnings and Information

It is important that you have displayed somewhere in the workplace a copy of the safety regulations of the premises. You should also have a poster displaying the Health and Safety Law so that your employees can be aware of regulations. 

 4. Licences and Certificates:

 Any licenses and certificates that you have should be displayed and the two most common essentials are:

 a) Means of Escape in case of Fire

 This will be issued by the fire authority or fire brigade and declares that your workplace can be easily and safely evacuated in the event of fire. The Fire Precautions Act, 1971 lists and details premises that require such a license and includes 'premises being used for work'. The license will also give procedures to follow in case of fire specific to your premises.

 b) Certificate of Employer's Liability Insurance

 If you employ anyone, then it is compulsory that you have one of these as stated by the Employers' Liability Act, 1969. It is a certificate to say that you have insurance cover for the injury or poor health of employees caused by incidents at work.

 The licenses and certificates that you need will be determined by the industry you are in, but some will be compulsory to all businesses (like those above). You should therefore contact a solicitor to find out what licenses and certificates you need specific for the Health & Safety law requirements of your business.

 5. Equipment Examination Records

 From time to time, any equipment that you have in the workplace may need to be examined by competent people to confirm that the equipment is safe to use. Reports that are generated from the examination should be kept on file so that they can be referred to at any time. If you perform routine checks on equipment yourself (or by anybody else in the business), you should also make records.

 Risk Assessments

 A risk assessment is only a legal requirement if you employ more than five people but it is still a good idea to do one if you employ below this number. A risk assessment is simply a careful analysis of those things that could potentially harm people in the workplace and also the hazards that the work itself may possess. From this, you can assess whether you have done enough to eliminate or reduce the individual hazards as much as possible or if it is something that needs to be dealt with. The main aim of a risk assessment is to prevent people from being injured or falling ill.

The following is an outline of how you may approach a risk assessment:

Many of the hazards you identify may be obvious to everyone but it is still essential that you record them. Remember that it may be impossible or out of your reach to completely eliminate the threat of a hazard, but you should concentrate on making the risk as small as possible. In other words, control the hazard so that the risk of being harmed is low.

 You should review the risk assessment periodically or when it is legally required if you employ more than five people. If you introduce changes in the workplace, or to the work itself, then you should update the risk assessment as soon as they are integrated. Any documentation associating Health & Safety, particularly risk assessments, should be made available and easily accessible to all staff.

Article Index

1 Introduction
2 Essential Health
3 Health & Safety Issues
4 Poor Posture