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Can you afford to take the risk?
It has to be said that when the words health and safety are mentioned these days, the inclination among many is sigh loudly and to write the whole thing off as more red tape, monitored by an over-zealous HSE police who’s only goal is to remove absolutely all risk and, consequently, enjoyment from our lives. Did they really ask trapeze artists to wear hard hats? Well no...that would be ridiculous, wouldn’t it? However, the conkers debate goes on...
Of course, a joke’s a joke and it can all so easily get blown out of proportion, with rumour, half truths and myths muddying the waters. The downside of this is the fact that the misunderstanding of health and safety regulations can mean we end up not taking it very seriously. That would be a mistake. Health and Safety regulations are important and are there to protect us all from serious harm.
So how do you begin to get the whole health and safety thing into proportion, abide by the rules and still be able to function sensibly as a business?
The first thing to remember is that it is, in fact, a legal requirement to abide by the UK Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and other relevant legislation. The promotion of health and safety measures should be seen as a positive mutual objective of management and employees at all levels. It should be a company’s policy to promote all measures that are reasonably practicable to protect the health and safety of its employees, visitors to its premises, contractors and the general public who may be affected by its actions.
The first things to consider are the basic legal requirements and how they affect your business. If you have five or more employees, you must have a written Health and Safety policy and Risk Assessment. This should clearly state who is responsible for what, be it staff training, providing and maintaining the right equipment, first aid or keeping up to date with current legislation. You must have a Health and Safety Law poster where it can easily be seen and read by your employees.
The better informed you are about what’s essential and what’s merely desirable, the easier it will be to make sure you implement appropriate and effective procedures in your workplace.
The main purpose of the Health and Safety regulations is to protect everyone involved in, or who comes into contact with, your business. Obviously the more specific requirements for your company and the degree of risk that anyone is likely to face will depend on what type of business you run and what you do, but there are some things to consider that will both meet regulations and show that you take both the health and the safety of your people seriously. For example:
Smoke free
Smoking is now prohibited in virtually all areas of the workplace at all times, including vehicles, and there are heavy penalties for breaching these regulations. Appropriate ‘no-smoking’ signs should be clearly displayed at all entrances to and within the premises, and in all smoke free vehicles.
Many of your staff may not smoke anyway, but it’s more than likely that at least one will. Whilst it’s your responsibility to make sure the smoke free regulations are administered, it’s not your job to get your staff to stop smoking - even if you could. So what do you do about them and should you provide a designated area outside where they are able to smoke if they want to? You certainly don’t have to and you may want to make it a rule that staff are not allowed to smoke immediately outside the entrance to your workplace. After all, although it’s not strictly a health and safety issue, portraying a professional business image to your clients and customers when they visit your premises is important.
A further consideration is the effect that smokers taking regular ‘cigarette breaks’ has on your non-smoking staff members. It’s possible that some may resent the fact that the smokers are seeming to get extra or longer breaks. In fact, many companies don’t have official breaks at all, other than lunchtime, and staff will often take drinks whilst continuing to work. In order to avoid contention and in fairness to all it may well be worth writing something into your contract of employment to ensure the guidelines are clear and well defined.
First Aid
Do you have a properly maintained first aid box and someone who knows what to do with it? An odd collection of plasters, out of date antiseptic and a few safety pins does not comprise a first aid box and may not instill much confidence in you from your staff. Is it worth considering whether you need one of your staff to be properly trained to administer first aid? Who will cover for them when they’re off sick or on holiday? After all, anyone can have an accident - even you.
Not all incidents are caused by the workplace but can still happen at the workplace. There may be an allergy sufferer on your team, a diabetic or someone who has had heart problems. Having systems in place to deal with minor day-to-day issues and more serious emergencies will offer peace of mind to everyone in your company.
Alcohol and drugs
These systems may also have to cover the use or misuse of certain ‘susbtances’ by one or more of your staff. The term ‘substance’ is commonly used to encompass alcohol, illegal drugs, prescribed drugs, over-the-counter drugs and chemicals such as solvents. ‘Misuse’ usually refers to use that creates problems or harm, either for the individual or others. It can cause problems for the company, the alcohol or drug user and their work colleagues.
Statistics and evidence shows that employees who engage in substance misuse excessively, or inappropriately, in relation to work are more likely to endanger their fellow workers, have accidents at work, be absent from work and be less efficient than their colleagues.
Do any of your employees operate machinery? Is driving their own or a company vehicle part of their job description. Attempting to work whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs can put their safety and that of others at much greater risk. Misuse of alcohol or drugs at the workplace can also constitute a criminal offence.
Of course, it may not always be easy to spot the signs at first. Some incidents may be a ‘one off’ and will not present an ongoing problem. However, it’s much better to be aware of any unusual patterns of behaviour. Some people are very good at disguising what’s going on - at least for a while.
Getting to know your team, their personalities and traits will help you to spot erratic behaviour. Make sure you also maintain open and co-operative communication with all staff to allow individuals to speak to you about concerns they may have without feeling they’re being disloyal to a colleague. You must know that you have systems in place to deal with these issues before they affect your staff and your business.
Responsibility
Don’t bury your head in the sand and think ‘it’ will never happen to you. If you do then ‘it’ inevitably will. Your main concern should be for the safety of your people and to keep within the law. On that note it should be said that it’s not your sole responsibility to make sure that happens. Your staff also have obligations. They too have a duty of care to you as their employer, and should not do anything which will unduly put themselves, and others, at risk.
However, you as the business owner, are ultimately responsible for breaches of legislation, which is why it’s so important to have policies in place to show you’ve done everything you can to inform and protect your staff and contacts.
Lastly, keeping good, clear records is absolutely vital. It’s an area where many companies fall down, but it’s important that this is not overlooked. You can never totally guarantee, for example, that an employee won’t do something stupid or reckless, either at the workplace or while they’re representing you elsewhere, but you can show that the employee has done it on their own volition and has acted outside of your stated policies.
You need to make sure you not only protect others but, in doing so, you also protect yourself and ultimately your business. Breaches of Health and Safety regulations can have extremely serious outcomes and certainly won’t do a thing to enhance your business reputation.
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