Health and safety management in small businesses
Health and safety is about preventing people from being harmed by work or becoming ill through work. This is so important that the law says we must not put ourselves, other workers, or the public, in danger. This is a principle and a rule which as a whole stands for businesses both large and small, no matter what they operate to do.
This covers employees, both full-time and part-time, temporary and permanent. This is also relevant to the self-employed, young people doing work experience, apprentices, charity workers, mobile workers and home workers. If you hire temporary workers or casual workers from agencies, the employer stands to have responsibilities too. It is very much their duty to make sure the workplace they manage has all of the correct health and safety provisions in place in which their employees can operate in a safe manner.
Controlling danger at workis no different from any other task. You need to recognise problems, know enough about them, decide what to do and act on the solutions. It is not just highly unusual or exceptional circumstances that cause accidents or ill health. Some basic thinking and acting beforehand could usually prevent them. In the event that they do occur, you simply need to take what ever measures are necessary to ensure there is never a repeat of the same problem again. For the best interests of the business, it is most effective to react as soon as the problem occurs and log the incident for others to be aware.
If you are already in business, you should already have a risk assessment and a health and safety policy for the benefit of the workforce and their prolonged safety. For the risk assessmen you have you should review your risk assessment. This is to make sure that precautions are still working effectively, especially if you bring in new machinery, substances or procedures which could lead to new hazards.
In the same way, review your Health and Safety Policy to make sure it is up to date. If both elements are thoroughly overseen and well prepared your workforce will be better prepared to ensure accidents won't be frequent within the business. A good way of being sure of this is to hold health and safety training seminars in which you can communicate your businesses health and safety in a clear and practical way. This is better for all delegates at both a junior and senior level.
This covers employees, both full-time and part-time, temporary and permanent. This is also relevant to the self-employed, young people doing work experience, apprentices, charity workers, mobile workers and home workers. If you hire temporary workers or casual workers from agencies, the employer stands to have responsibilities too. It is very much their duty to make sure the workplace they manage has all of the correct health and safety provisions in place in which their employees can operate in a safe manner.
Controlling danger at workis no different from any other task. You need to recognise problems, know enough about them, decide what to do and act on the solutions. It is not just highly unusual or exceptional circumstances that cause accidents or ill health. Some basic thinking and acting beforehand could usually prevent them. In the event that they do occur, you simply need to take what ever measures are necessary to ensure there is never a repeat of the same problem again. For the best interests of the business, it is most effective to react as soon as the problem occurs and log the incident for others to be aware.
If you are already in business, you should already have a risk assessment and a health and safety policy for the benefit of the workforce and their prolonged safety. For the risk assessmen you have you should review your risk assessment. This is to make sure that precautions are still working effectively, especially if you bring in new machinery, substances or procedures which could lead to new hazards.
In the same way, review your Health and Safety Policy to make sure it is up to date. If both elements are thoroughly overseen and well prepared your workforce will be better prepared to ensure accidents won't be frequent within the business. A good way of being sure of this is to hold health and safety training seminars in which you can communicate your businesses health and safety in a clear and practical way. This is better for all delegates at both a junior and senior level.
Source...