Health and safety training for employees is essential to your business. As an employer, you have a legal responsibility to ensure the health and safety of employees in the workplace.
Knowing where to start is tricky. A recent HSE survey showed that some businesses – through good will – implement unnecessary measures owing to confusion over their responsibilities.
Among the findings of the H&S ABC report, one business implemented written guidelines for ascending the stairs, with another completing a risk assessment by way of a tape measure.
Such measures come at great time and expense to small businesses, so it is important that we get them right first time round.
Where should I start?
The first step to take is to understand which rules apply to you and what steps you need to take to fulfill them. When the safety message is consistent atop of a company, it leads to better uptake by staff at the coalface.
Once your safety requirements have been identified, training is the key in the ignition of fuelling workplace safety. The more knowledgable staff are of their surroundings and the measures they must take to stay safe, the better chance you have of preventing and mitigating incidents.
Training tailored to your environment helps employees:
- Understand their responsibilities
- Operate in a safe culture where adhering to regulations is the norm
- Avoid incidents altogether
- Mitigate the fallout of incidents
- Decrease the chances of occupational illness in later life
HSE guide helps SMBs understand duties
The Health and Safety Executive has put together a fantastic resource which contains all the information a small business needs in order to manage health and safety sensibly.
The tool is available for free on their website.
Related reading:
- Unnecessary safety measures wasting business’ time and money says HSE
- Press Release: University of Hull Processes Safety With RTS
- Controlled explosion at Peterborough chemicals factory
- Fuel tank decommissioning contractor prosecuted
- New NEBOSH Oil and Gas Course dates 2014 Lincolnshire
- Free personal protective equipment training for your site
