Health And Safety Issues
Introduction
Whether you have two employees or twenty, Health & Safety issues in the workplace are very important to small businesses and not just to the large companies. You may think that the concern of Health & Safety has been covered to an appropriate level in your business but there are still things that many people are unaware of.
The following article will give you an introduction to Health & Safety and will cover issues that are common to most businesses. The article will further highlight your responsibilities, as a manager, to integrate Health & Safety into the business so that you (and your staff) are confident of a safe working environment.
Why is Health & Safety Important to Small Businesses?
Your employees have rights to work in safe conditions with a regard to personal health and it is therefore important that you offer them this sort of working environment: failing to do so can result in personal injury, disease or general poor health. Such occurrences can result in legal action being taking against your business (or you personally) which could damage the business financially and its reputation (including you – as an employer).
The saying of “prevention is better than cure” fits the bill perfectly for this area. A disaster that occurs through the lack of Health & Safety precautions could potentially cause business failure for many small businesses. This not only concerns the damage of assets, but also the health of your staff (and yourself) who each may be a key player in the business. It is therefore important that you introduce Health & Safety precautions to avoid such disasters instead of dealing with them when they happen.
Implementing Health & Safety will also help build inter-working-relations with your employees as they have the responsibility of looking after each other by knowing what is safe and what is not. Further, they will have the knowledge of how to deal with situations should they occur: this will range from putting out a fire to timely first aid.
Your Responsibilities as an Employer
The Health & Safety at Work Act, 1974 states that it is your responsibility to protect the health, safety and welfare of yourself, your employees, and people that may be affected by what you do. Such people include:
- Visitors to your workplace
- The public that use your product or service
- Neighbours
In other words, you need to control the risks that arise in the workplace and from the work itself that may result in poor health or injury.
It is therefore your responsibility to acknowledge a risk assessment (detailed later) that may be completed by other people in the business, but will have your approval. If you employ five or more people, then you need to have a written Health & Safety policy (detailed later) which should be brought to the attention of all employees.
For a small business manager you are advised to be pro-active when it comes down to Health & Safety by regularly checking the facilities yourself for potential risks that may not have been picked up by anyone else (or that you never knew existed yourself). By doing so, you are showing responsibility as a manager for regarding Health & Safety as a serious issue – as you should.
It is your responsibility to make sure that your employees are fully aware of Health & Safety in the workplace through regular training sessions to bring them up to speed. You should also keep them updated about any changes that will affect Health & Safety, for example, new power points or new office equipment. You can use a third party such as a safety consultant to deliver the training, but it is still your responsibility to make sure that it is done.
One of your most important responsibilities is to provide all the necessary equipment and facilities that are required for first aid should an employee become injured or ill at work. This will include a first aid box in which the location should be known to everyone.
Further, you should provide equipment to deal with hazards such as fire, chemical spills, broken glass, or anything that is specific to your business. Likewise, it is important that you provide safety equipment that will reduce the risk of injury or illness, say protective eye goggles or simply mouse pads that are specifically designed to reduce the risk of repetitive strain injury.
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