As an employer, the safety of those who work for you should be a top priority. There are certain rules and regulations that you must abide by to ensure that accidents, and workplace injuries are minimised, such as HSE Legislation and The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Some of the most common incidents are caused by the use of heavy machinery, exposure to chemicals, the use of dangerous machinery and falls, slips on wet surfaces and trips. There are measures that you should take to ensure a safe work place.
Carry out risk assessments:
The only way to make yourself fully aware of all of the different hazards in a workplace is to carry out a risk assessment. This will report any unsafe procedures, environments and potential accidents that your employees can have. If you’re aware of all of the dangers, then you can take measures to prevent any accidents. Any risk assessment should be well documented and kept in your records.
Provide a safe work environment:
As well as providing training and conducting risk assessments, it’s imperative to also provide a safe work environment. For example, if you work within an industrial factory, it’s important to provide the correct ventilation systems in order to bring a flow of fresh clean air into the building. Risk assessments should highlight any potential problems that you may face, and then it is your responsibility to act upon any of the risks that come about. If you fail to do so, then you can put your employees in serious danger, and can also run the risk of being in breach of HSE laws.
Provide training:
If you are working in a hazardous environment, for example a kitchen or an industrial factory, then it is important to provide the correct training to your employees. This training will cover all aspects of your industry and will cover important factors such as handling machinery, what to do in the case of a fire etc. Again, this training should be well documented and kept in your records. It’s important to provide regular training, in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses in your team.