Did you know that under UK law, businesses have an obligation to provide a safe environment for their employees and customers? As well as it being mandated by law, having proper health and safety in the workplace procedures is part of being a good employer and managing risk for both employees and your business.
Understanding your obligations as an employer is the first step to effectively managing health and safety in a workplace, but we understand that it can feel like navigating a minefield. Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about health and safety in the workplace.
What is the Health and Safety at Work Act?
Health and safety in the workplace is regulated by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSAW), which outlines the obligations businesses have to their employees and customers. The Act places a range of responsibilities on employers to take all measures “so far as is reasonably practicable” to prevent or reduce risk in the workplace.
The HWSA aims to prevent, or reduce the risk of injuries and illness at work through a proactive approach to health and safety management.
Why is health and safety in the workplace important?
At its core, health and safety at work is important because it protects employees, customers and clients. Although organisations do have a duty of care to ensure a safe environment under the Health and Safety at Work Act, it is good practice regardless. Some of the main benefits of prioritising health and safety in a workplace include:
- Protects employees – Good health and safety practices reduce the risk of accidents, injuries, and illnesses. This helps to ensure the wellbeing of employees.
- Legal compliance – Organisations have obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act, and adhering to the legislation means employers avoid legal repercussions.
- Increased productivity – A safe workplace fosters employee morale and motivation, leading to increased productivity and efficiency.
- Reduced absenteeism – A workplace that keeps their employees safe results in less absenteeism. This has a positive impact on performance and productivity.
- Reputation management – Companies known for prioritising health and safety are more likely to attract and retain talent, as well as gain customer trust.
- Cost savings – Preventing accidents can lead to significant cost savings by avoiding medical expenses, compensation claims, and potential loss of business.
How can businesses comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act?
In order to avoid legal repercussions due to health and safety breaches, it’s critical that small business owners and HR professionals are aware of what they need to do to comply with health and safety at work legislations.
It’s important to keep in mind that the HSWA legislation doesn’t just apply to full time employees. In fact, it also focuses on the health and safety of:
- Temps and casual staff
- Sub-contractors and freelancers
- Clients, customers and partners
- Visitors and the general public when on business premises
If you’re unsure about what your obligations are, we have broken it down for you. Follow these ten steps and you’ll stay in the HSWA’s good books!
Have a Health & Safety Policy
If you have five or more employees, it is mandated by law that you must have a written health and safety policy. A comprehensive policy should include:
- Statement of intent
- Responsibilities
- Risk assessment procedures
- Emergency procedures
- Training and communication
- Health and safety standards
- Reporting procedures
- Monitoring and review
- Employee involvement
- Resources and support
We know that putting together an entire policy is time consuming, and as a HR professional or small business owner, time is precious. In the interest of saving you time and making your life easier, we have a template policy which is available through Employment Hero.
Conduct Risk Assessments
To comply with UK employment law, you must regularly conduct risk assessments. A risk assessment is a process that identifies potential hazards and analyses the consequences of those hazards. It can be utilised to determine how to control or reduce risks.
Businesses must:
- Identify what could cause injury or illness in your business (hazards)
- Decide how likely it is that someone could be harmed and how seriously (the risk)
- Take action to eliminate the hazard, or if this isn’t possible, control the risk
The Health & Safety Executive’s template risk assessment document can be used for this purpose.
Report and Record Accidents and Illnesses
Businesses that employ 10 or more employees must keep a written record of all accidents, illnesses and injuries that could occur at work. Staying organised can be challenging, which is why Employment Hero has an Incident Reporting feature, to simplify the process.
It’s also important to note that businesses must report on certain workplace injuries, near-misses and cases of work related disease to the Health & Safety Executive.
Provide all workers with information and training
Businesses are responsible for ensuring all members of staff are aware of health and safety measures and procedures. Therefore, employers need to provide an appropriate induction on health and safety matters, alongside ongoing training. This is essential as it allows workers to perform their role safely and effectively.
The Government has created a Health & Safety Induction Checklist that is helpful for conducting training.
Consult workers on health and safety matters
Having an open line of communication with your staff is important when it comes to health and safety in a workplace environment. This allows businesses to gain a deeper understanding of areas pertaining to safety that need to be improved and what risks employees face when conducting their duties. Under UK law, you must regularly consult your staff on:
- Health and safety and the work they do
- How risks are controlled
- The best ways of providing information and training
There is no specified way in which this needs to be carried out, so it is down to the business owner or HR professional to decide. However, some great ways of gathering this information include:
- 1:1 meetings
- Regular meetings focusing on health and safety
- Health and safety as a standard item to discuss in weekly meetings
- Employee surveys
Have the right workplace facilities
It’s important to set your business up for success, and make health and safety an aspect that is easy to adhere to. UK legislation states that employers must maintain a safe and healthy workplace, and provide adequate welfare facilities.
Facilities that employers need to provide include:
- Access to toilets and washbasins
- Drinking water
- An area to rest and eat meals
Have access to first aid
First aid is non-negotiable if you want to be compliant under the Health and Safety at Work Act. Employers must ensure that:
- All workers have access to adequate first aid, this generally means ensuring they can access a suitably stocked first aid kit and have an ability to call an ambulance in an emergency
- There is an appointed person or people to take charge of first aid arrangements (can be you)
- Information is provided to all workers telling them about first aid arrangements
Display the health and safety law poster or provide leaflet
The UK Government has created a health and safety law poster for businesses, and you must either:
- Display the Health & Safety Executive’s health and safety law poster where your workers can easily read it
- Provide each worker with the equivalent health and safety law leaflet
Provide free eye test and glasses for workers using screens
As an employer, it’s important to protect your employees from the health risks of working with display screen equipment, such as computer monitors, laptops, tablets and smartphones.
A good way of doing this involves arranging free eye tests for workers who use screens on a regular basis, if they ask for one. Employers should also provide their staff with glasses if an employee needs them for display screen equipment use only.
If an employee ordinarily needs glasses, the employer does not have to pay for this. It’s only where the glasses are needed just for display screen equipment use only, which will be quite rare.
See further information here.
Appoint a competent person
A large part of making sure all health and safety legislation is adhered to by your business involves having a member of staff responsible for it. Without assigning someone to this task, it can often get forgotten about.
In small businesses, the owner or founder may be the person to deal with health and safety, in others a HR professional might be the most suitable person. For larger companies, you might consider hiring a health and safety officer.
Wrapping Up
Prioritising health and safety in a workplace is not just another legal obligation that organisations need to consider; it’s a fundamental aspect of fostering a positive and productive environment. These processes can help businesses improve employee morale, and protect their most valuable asset – their people
A commitment to being compliant when it comes to health and safety also mitigates risks, protects your business, reduces costs all while building a positive reputation and attracting top talent.
However, staying up to date with the latest health and safety legislation isn’t always an easy task to squeeze onto your to-do list. This is where Employment Hero can help. Our next-gen-all-in-one HR and payroll platform is built to flex with your business. Offering everything from finding and hiring top talent, to dealing with complex payroll and offering HR support with our HR Advisory service. Let us take care of the admin tasks, so you can focus on what really matters – your people.
Learn more and speak to one of our specialists today.
