Essential guides for UK businesses: How to prioritise health and safety
Regulations keep you and your business safe. In an ever-competitive sphere for businesses, getting the paperwork right could make the difference between a successful year and packing up altogether.
Knowing how to remain compliant is a skill, but you can learn quickly without affecting your operational productivity. Whether you’ve only just started out or you’re changing direction for the new year, it’s always worth knowing how to get health and safety right.
Occupational health and safety: Understanding the role you play
As a chief executive or owner as a business, ensuring full compliance with health and safety regulations is ultimately your responsibility. When a team is committed to protecting operational health and safety, it will be more productive. And when you can train, equip and guide your team effectively, reduced downtime turns more profits.
Perhaps most importantly, it’s a legal requirement to comply with relevant health and safety guidelines for your industry.
Our top 5 tips for a streamlined approach to occupational health and safety
- Know your legal obligations
Legal compliance is essential. There are three main legal elements concerning health and safety that apply across Britain’s workforce:
- The Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974
- The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, 1999
- The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992
There are strict and compulsory guidelines for businesses to follow. They cover vital areas of trade including the duties of employers to their employees, the working environment and conditions, the facilities within a workplace, and accident prevention.
- Ensure comprehensive training
Certain industries are undoubtedly more accident-prone than others. If you operate in construction or manufacturing, for example, it’s highly likely that you rely on heavy machinery to keep your team working at maximum efficiency.
Luckily, basic training can ensure that your employees know how to follow company protocol to protect their safety. And the solutions are often simpler than you might expect: for example, using hoists to lift heavy objects and materials eliminates the risk of injuries associated with manual lifting.
- Focus on employee wellbeing
A safe and regulated working environment not only improves the physical and mental health of your employees but could contribute to improved morale across the board. Even though it’s easy to assume that health and safety measures account largely for physical safety, there are prominent guidelines concerning mental health and emotional security.
- Enhance operational efficiency
There’s a direct link between health and safety compliance and operational efficiency. When fewer accidents, injuries and incidents occur in the workplace, it should naturally experience increased productivity and reduced downtime too.
You should always try to see the benefits of following guidelines that might seem simple. When your employees wear personal protective equipment and use it in the correct way, they’re more likely to be able to focus on the task at hand.
- Build your reputation with your business
Lastly, with a genuine commitment to safety and compliance, you can enhance the reputation of your business. Positive perceptions and success stories in the media could even lead to promotional opportunities, growth in new areas, and partnerships with other businesses and sponsors.
