INFO
Complying with all of the Health and Safety regulations can be a burden. These regulations are constantly evolving and it is difficult to keep up to date with all of the important changes. It is important that you know how these apply to your business and the responsibilities you have.
Did you know that if you are an employer you not only have a moral need but also a legal obligation to safeguard the health and safety of employees and others who might be affected by your organisation’s operations. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 Section 2(3) states that employers with 5 or more employees must: Prepare a written health and safety policy; Set out the organisation and arrangements for putting the policy into effect; Revise and update the policy as needed; Bring the policy to the notice of employees.
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 Regulation 3 says: Every employer is required to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of risk to employees and risks to other people who might be affected (e.g. visitors, public) while Regulation 7 requires employers to appoint 'one or more competent persons' to assist in meeting the legal requirements of safety law. These people do not have to be employees because necessary help can be obtained through consultants but preference should be given to internal persons.
There is a duty to prevent and/or minimise the impact of an organisation's activities on the planet's ecosystem. Clearly, we must all do what we can to avoid this. It is a legal requirement to safeguard the environment that might be affected by organisation's operations. Environmental accidents at work cost a great deal of money, especially when we add in damage accidents (particularly when they interupt production, downgrade the quality of our products or impair the environment). The costs for clean up, containment and rectification of any environmental damage in the nation have to be covered by the polluter.
Many cases studies over recent years have illustrated the difference between insured costs and uninsured costs. It has been shown that uninsured costs were often between 8 and 36 times greater than the costs of insurance premiums. HSE studies found that uninsured costs outweighed insured costs by up to 36 times. Accidents are more expensive than most people realise because of the hidden costs. Some costs are obvious, for example, Workers' Compensation claims which cover medical costs and indemnity payments for an injured or ill worker. These are the direct costs of accidents. But what about the costs to train and compensate a replacement worker, repair damaged property, investigate the accident, implement corrective action, and to maintain insurance coverage? Even less apparent are the costs related to schedule delays, added administrative time, lower morale, increased absenteeism, and poorer customer relations. These are the indirect costs that are not so obvious until we take a closer look.
