Health and safety can be a complicated area of employment legislation for many businesses, which can be further complicated when you are a small company with no dedicated HR department. However, it is still something that all companies must adhere to, so you must ensure your company follows the rules. There are many different aspects of Health & Safety to cover. Still, below, you will find some of the most important facets of it that you need to ensure your company is compliant with or face the consequences if something terrible happens.
Create A Health & Safety Policy
All companies must have a health and safety policy in place which is documented and made available to all workers. The bigger your company, the more detailed and comprehensive it must be. It is often an excellent idea to select reputable health and safety consultants to assist you with this for your company.
Provide A Suitable Working Environment & Facilities
As an employer, it is your responsibility to provide your workers with an environment suitable and safe for them to use and perform their duties. You must consider their welfare and provide toilets and cleaning facilities, somewhere to store their belongings and a place to take their breaks. There are also many safety aspects to consider, depending on your employees’ work and the environment.
Nominate Someone To Take Care Of Health & Safety
Whether you look to employ someone within your organisation to use the services of a reputable outsourcing company, you should have someone dedicated to looking after this aspect of your business. Your employees should know who they need to speak to if they have any concerns about health and safety and its procedures. The business owner often takes these responsibilities when the company starts, but it becomes more complicated and time-consuming as the company grows.
Have Suitable Employers Liability Insurance
All companies must have suitable employer’s liability insurance, so they adhere to the law, and it is not something you want to overlook or let lapse. If an accident or something terrible happens to one of your employees, it can ruin your company and force bankruptcy if you do not have suitable insurance. You can find you face expensive fines, as well as compensation for the worker or their family if they suffer injury or death through their work. It will also increase your insurance premiums for your business, so it is not something you want to overlook.
Provide Suitable Training
It is also compulsory for companies to provide their workers with suitable training to ensure they are compliant with health and safety rules. Once you have trained your staff members, it puts some of the responsibility on their shoulders, reducing the pressure on you, but it is still something you need to monitor closely. You will need to document all the training your employees receive so there is a record of it and so you can show that they have had all the training required to enable them to perform their duties safely. There are many more aspects of health and safety that you need to consider. If you do not have an HR department, consider outsourcing this until your company can do the job internally.
