Over the last 40 years the UK has led the world when it comes to workplace health and safety. Since the Health and Safety at Work Act received Royal Assent in 1974 workplace fatalities have fallen by 85 percent and fatal injuries by over 75 percent.

HSE chair Judith Hackitt explains that “despite having diversified away from an economy based predominantly on heavy industry and manufacturing, much of the original framework and vision of the Health and Safety Act 1974 remains relevant”, and that “the principles have been applied time and again to new and emerging technologies and sectors.”

This reputation is something to be proud of; all workers have a right to work in places where health risks are properly controlled. Your employer is mostly responsible for health and safety, but you must help too. Want to know how you can help keep the UK safe at work? Here’s how…

For employers:

• Decide what could harm you in your job and the precautions to stop it.
• In a way you can understand, explain how risks will be controlled.
• Consult and work with you and health and safety representatives to protect people from harm in the workplace
• Provide health and safety training, free of charge
• Provide you with equipment and clothing, free of charge
• Provide drinking water, first-aid facilities, somewhere to wash, toilets
• Report major injuries and fatalities
• Have and clearly display an insurance certificate that covers you in case you get hurt at work or ill through work

For you:

• Follow the training provided
• Take reasonable care of your own and other people’s health and safety
• Cooperate with your employer on health and safety
• Tell someone if you think the work or inadequate precautions are putting people’s health and safety at risk

For more information, courses and health and safety equipment, please get in touch and speak to one of our health and safety professionals today.

If you’re a small business, Health and Safety will more often than not be the last thing on your mind but there will come a time when if you aren’t prepared, you may face a scramble to ensure you comply with Health and Safety law.

Adherence to basic Health and Safety laws is vital for any business, even small businesses, but in our experience a company will often try to fulfil their obligations in a hurry. This is particularly the case when start-ups begin to mature into fully fledged businesses. A growing company with 2 to 3 people can very quickly grow into a company employing 4, 5 and so on…

This is often the point where the owner will realise that he or she isn’t doesn’t have any form of health and safety policy. As an employer, the question you need to ask yourself is “what happens if an employee gets injured or is exposed to anything harmful?” however remote that prospect is.

The risk might only be theoretical, but it would cost your company a great deal of money to put right should it be found that you were liable for any oversights. This could very well undermine the whole foundation of your business in the process and invalidate any insurance you have in place.

So how do you fulfil health and safety requirements in a small business?

The first place to start is to appoint a competent person to deal with it, this can be yourself or an employee but ultimately as a small company owner the health and safety of your employees will be your responsibility.

Lots of guidance on this can be found on the HSE website or if you want to ensure that you are fully prepared for any eventuality, book yourself on a short enjoyable course with a health and safety training provider. They will advise you on everything you need to get your company health and safety procedures exactly right.

Call us today on 01978 660 000 for details or advice on health and safety issues for business.

Ignoring health and safety can cost your business serious money – so it really is worth making a small investment in training.

Every day businesses discover to their own cost that ignoring health and safety and putting off training your staff for another day is a false economy. Simply type ‘health and safety fines’ in Google and you will find an endless list of companies who ignore the risks placing employees and often themselves in danger.

The HSE has been busy clamping down on those who flout health and safety in Wales. As a result of one investigation, it was announced this month (April) that the owners of a Cardiff roofing company have been sentenced after repeatedly putting their workers at risk by ignoring urgent orders to improve safety.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) issued a Prohibition Notice after finding employees were being put at risk of a potentially fatal fall from height. Three workers were spotted replacing tiles on a sloping roof near an unprotected gable end of a three-storey building at Thornhill Court in Cardiff on 5 August 2010.

Cardiff Magistrates Court heard the employees were working between eight and ten metres above the ground. A visiting HSE inspector issued the notice ordering work to stop immediately until safety barriers were put in place on the roof. The owner of the company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, fined £5,985 and ordered to pay costs of £1,800.

This could have been a lot worse, according to the HSE, falls from height are the single biggest cause of fatalities in the construction industry.

So is it really worth risking a fine or worse? Call us on 01978 660 000 to book your health and safety course in Wrexham today.