Advice Pack for Smaller Firms
Sheet 1: Why health and safety is important
Hazards at Work
Whatever sort of business you are, there is always the possibility of an accident or damage to someone’s health. All work exposes people to hazards, be they: loads which have to be manually handled; dangerous machinery; toxic substances; electricity; working with display screen equipment or even psychological hazards such as stress.
The Cost of Safety Failure
The reason there are not even more accidents and diseases caused by work is because systems of prevention are in place which have been built up over generations. Safety does not come about by accident: most accidents happen because they have not been prevented. Yet despite all the precautions that are taken in the UK, there are still 1.6 million workplace injuries every year as well as 2.1 million cases of ill health caused or made more by work.
This costs Britain up to £16 billion per annum or nearly 3 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product.
Even small businesses have accidents. On average the rate of fatal and serious accidents in firms employing less than 50 people is almost double that for firms employing one thousand plus - but the interval between accidents is longer.
For example, if you are a small manufacturing company employing 25 people, you might have an accident leading to a reportable (over 3 day absence) accident about every other year - but, in the same period, you might have at least 2 significant injuries required first aid, and over 120 potentially costly ‘damage only’ accidents.
Underlying Principles
Attention to health and safety is not just about being socially responsible. It also makes good business sense and you should regard it as just as important as the achievement of any other key business objective.
Of course, working out what modern health and safety law means for your business can be quite a headache. But don’t be put off. Yes, on the face of it there do seem to be a lot of regulations and there is a lot of supporting guidance, but the underlying principles are really quite straightforward.
Essentially you have to ensure absence of risk to safety and health of employees and others ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’.
- You have to have a system (eg. have a policy, designate people and have clear procedures) in place to manage health and safety (and, if you employ more than five people, set this out in a written health and safety policy statement). You need to be able to show how you plan, organise, control, monitor and review preventative measures. And you need to appoint a competent person(s) to help you comply with your legal obligations.
- You have to identify your main hazards (things that could cause harm).
- You have to assess your risks (the probability that significant harm will occur) and again, if you employ more than five, record the results of your assessment; and
- You have to make sure that your risk control measures are adequate and that they are used and maintained and that they continue to work. (You also have to put in place any back up measures that may be needed like health surveillance or emergency procedures). And you have to inform, train and supervise employees.
- You also have to do certain things like: reporting and recording accidents; providing certain basic workplace, first aid and welfare facilities; having employers’ liability insurance; and notifying the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Local Authority of your existence; consulting your workforce and their representatives; and so on.
Risk Control Measures
For the most part the law sets out certain health and safety goals to be achieved and indicates appropriate ‘benchmarks’ to help you work out whether your controls are up to ‘reasonably practicable’ standards. There is an underlying requirement to reduce or eliminate hazards at source, or isolate people from them (for example, by guarding machinery) before using other forms of control. Relying on the use of personal protective equipment - like respirators or protective footwear - is a last resort and is only acceptable when all other options have failed.
Getting Started
If all this is new to you, where do you start?
Well, first of all, you need to get a good overview of the subject. Start with some basic reading such as free HSE leaflets (you can get a menu on autofax by dialling 0839 06 06 06) or get hold of a copy of HSE’s ‘Essentials of Health and Safety at Work’ from HSE Books, Tel 01787 881165. You can also ring the HSE’s ‘Infoline’ which is open during normal business hours - Tel 0541 54 55 00. You can of course visit the HSE web site on www.open.gov.uk/hse
Contact RoSPA (Tel 0121 248 2000 Fax 0121 248 2001) and consider going on a basic training course. RoSPA can also help with its ‘Health and Safety Review’ services for smaller businesses which can provide a comprehensive diagnosis of strengths and weaknesses in your management of health and safety (more information on Sheet 9).
You might also consider becoming an ‘occupational member' of RoSPA and joining a local RoSPA affiliated health and safety group (see Sheet 10).
‘Where Are You Now?’
Armed with the knowledge you have gained, try to answer the following questions: "When it comes to health and safety, where are we now as a company?" and "Where do we want to be this time next year?"
- Start by looking at your firm’s health and safety policy statement. It should be the basis of your firm’s health and safety action plan.
- Ask yourself whether you have an effective health and safety management system in place - in other words, a planned way of tackling problems.
- Have you got clear policies and objectives for health and safety?
- Have you organised key people to achieve them?
- What training do they need?
- Have you appointed a competent person to help you comply with your duties?
- Have you identified your main hazards and assessed the risks involved?
- Have you selected the right control measures to tackle these main risks
- Are they adequate or do you need to do more?
- Are they actually being applied in practice?
- Are you monitoring progress - for example, by inspecting the workplace regularly or investigating accidents and ‘near misses’ - to learn from your mistakes?
- Have you set a date to review your health and safety performance against your plans?
Risk Assessment
Risk assessment is the key to working out what needs to be done - but don’t make it over-complicated. Remember, although you have to do it by law, it is really only any use if it can be used as a working tool - to help you prove to yourself and your employees that you have identified the main things in your business which could cause harm and that you are doing everything you should to prevent that harm from happening.
Working Together
Although if you are the person in overall control of your business, ‘the buck stops with you’, you cannot achieve a safe and healthy working environment on your own. It has to be a team effort and you need to consult your employees and, where appointed, their safety representatives. You need to get proper health and safety co-ordination going with other businesses with which you come into contact such as clients, customers, suppliers or contractors. You need to build ownership and commitment to safety throughout your workforce.
Don’t Delay - Get Started Today!
Above all, you need to remember that besides protecting people and the environment, action on health and safety can also make a major contribution to business success. Not only will it help stop accidents and work related ill health among your staff, but it will reduce your accident losses, improve your profit and loss statement and help you become more efficient. Don’t think accidents and occupational ill health can’t happen in your company. Above all don’t wait for things to go wrong and then go for the ‘quick fix’. Build health and safety in from the start. Don’t delay - make time and space to get started today!
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