Safety in the Workplace

Every year in the UK there are a reported average of over 36 million working days lost due to work related accidents and ill health, and around 350 fatalities to workers and members of the public due to reportable accidents at work, according to RoSPA. As a result, thousands of pounds of compensation is awarded each year to employee's making work accident claims.

These figures show that it makes sense for employers to take care of their employees’ health and well being wherever possible. It is also your duty, as an employer, to be aware of the laws and regulations involving the health and safety of your employees. This is why we have created a simple checklist for employers, to help them improve the safety of their workforce.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA) set out a series of expectations for both employers and employees, and this act is what has shaped our current understanding of what is acceptable practice for health and safety at work in the UK.

Responsibilities for employees

The Act states that Employees must be actively involved in creating a safe and secure environment for work, and take reasonable care over their own health and safety. There is a system of ‘self-regulation’ in the UK, where trade union representatives are responsible for liaising with employers in order to provide a safe environment.

Responsibilities for employers

Responsibilities for employers figure very highly in the HSWA. They include a duty to maintain safe work systems and to remove health and safety risks where possible for the handling of substances. Employers must also maintain a safe working environment, particularly with reference to access and exits, and provide any facilities which are necessary for the welfare of employees.

Statement of Health and Safety Policy

An employer must have a Statement of Health and Safety Policy, including written details of their health and safety practices, revised when necessary. An organisation with fewer than five employees does not need a written Statement, but must still provide health and safety training.

Training

Employers must make sure employees are aware of health and safety requirements, including training and supervision when necessary.
The HSWA states that it is an employer’s responsibility to ‘provide such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety at work of their employees'.

It is necessary to provide this information to visitors, contractors and sub-contractors, as well as to employees.

Safety Representatives

Employers must speak regularly with ‘safety representatives’ to investigate any safety concerns raised by employees. If two or more safety representatives ask for it, the employer is required to establish a ‘health and safety committee’, to observe the health and safety practices within the company.

For more information on workplace safety, please visit the Health and Safety Executive website.