As an employer, you have many legal obligations when it comes to keeping your staff safe. If you fail to consider health and safety issues, your business is almost guaranteed to suffer. It’s only a matter of time before someone injures themselves and makes a claim against your company. That could result in you losing thousands of pounds in court costs, and having to cover an extortionate compensation bill. So, you need to start placing more emphasis on safety regulations within your operation. There is some information on this page that should assist you in covering the basics. Of course, there is always more to learn, and so you should continue your research with CBAT.
- Perform risk assessments for all tasks
It’s important that you identify potential hazards and try to manage them as well as you can. That means you need to learn how to perform risk assessments on every process within your business. That way, you can make your employees aware of the dangers they face, and give the best advice on how to avoid them. There is a wealth of information online that will help you to achieve that goal. You could even pay a specialist to come into your place of work and have a look around. They could compile a report that explains all the actions you need to take. With a bit of luck, your accident rates should decrease.
- Provide proper equipment and clothing
Depending on the conditions of your working environment, it makes sense to give people the correct safety equipment. Maybe your workers need PPE workwear to perform their duties safely? Professionals from Selectequip Ltd understand the importance of such clothing more than most. They say that business owners who fail to purchase the right gear for their staff will get into trouble eventually. You never know when the government might send someone to inspect your workplace. If people aren’t wearing steel toe capped boots or safety glasses, you could face hefty fines. In some instances, they could even close your company until the issue is resolved.
- Ask your team for input
At the end of the day, the people working for your company are in the best position to highlight any dangers you’ve overlooked. They spend all day using your machinery, and so they will know about any issues they face. Arrange a meeting and ask them to raise any concerns. Listen to their opinions, and see if you can rectify the problem. KSL Training and other specialists offer some excellent advice on that process. Maybe you need to purchase some new guards for your drills? Perhaps a pressure mat on the floor could stop that bending machine from injuring people using it?
If you haven’t taken health and safety seriously thus far, 2017 is the year to get things right. Failure to do that will mean you build a reputation for being a bad boss. It could also mean you lose your profits to fines and court cases. Nobody wants that to happen. So, take our advice and get your workplace in order as soon as possible. You’ll thank us later.