IN AN ideal world, all employees would be safe in their job roles – realistically, both employers and staff must make a conscious effort to maintain health and safety standards in order to reduce the likelihood of serious accidents or injuries sustained in the workplace.
Annually, there are an estimated 340 million occupational accidents and 160 million workers affected by work-related illness and disease worldwide. Workplace injuries can have a devastating impact on both the output of your business and the health and safety of your staff, but what are your responsibilities as an employer when it comes to ensuring your workers are kept safe?
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What responsibilities do employers have in terms of health and safety at work?
In accordance with the regulations outlined in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, employers are legally required to put appropriate procedures in place related to health and safety in the workplace.
Employers have a duty of care for their staff and could be liable for fines or even prosecution if they fail to meet health and safety standards. Once an accident or injury has occurred in the workplace, it’s the employer’s responsibility to record and report the details of the case, including the nature of the incident and any dates, times or witnesses.
Failing to properly report an accident via the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) system is considered a serious breach of health and safety law. If your employee’s injuries require hospital treatment, you’ll be required to pay sick leave – you will also have to provide any help and support that the injured party may require in getting back to work, such as reducing their workload or reassigning their job role.
How can you prevent accidents in your workplace?
As evident in the Health and Safety at Work Act, employers are obliged to re-assess their existing procedures and operations after an incident of injury in the workplace in order to reduce potential accidents in the future. As an employer, you should have watertight safety plans in place to deal with any eventuality or worst-case scenario – make sure that you regularly conduct risk assessments of your business, at least once annually; this could include inspecting heavy machinery, equipment and vehicles on-site and seeking feedback from your staff related to potential safety issues at work.
By providing your staff with appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and ensuring that they’re well trained in health and safety protocols, you can significantly reduce the risk of avoidable workplace accidents and injury in your business. Ensure that your workplace is kept clean, tidy and organised, which will reduce the chances of slips, trips and falls.
