Employment
and related matters
Health
and Safety
It
is very likely that owners and managers of many smaller businesses
are not aware of just how demanding health and safety regulations
can be.
We provide an overview of these below and highlight some practical
tips and processes on how your business can remain (or become!)
compliant.
Legislation
Governing Health and Safety
The
main statutes are:
- The
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
(Risk Assessment)
- The
Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations
1996
- Safety
Representatives and Safety Committee Regulations 1977
There
are many other regulations relating to specific areas of health
and safety, for example, manual handling, display screen equipment,
control of substances hazardous to health and first aid. There
are also approved codes of practice (ACOPS) which provide
practical advice on compliance and have special legal status.
Minimum
Requirements
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A
business with at least five employees must have all
of the following in place to avoid problems with a health
and safety inspector:
- a
written health and safety policy
- assessments
of risks from workplace activities
- records
of any significant findings from such assessments
- consultations
with employees or their representatives on health
and safety matters
- health
and safety training programmes
- employer’s
liability insurance, evidence of which is on display
- health
and safety posters on display
- a
competent person appointed to assist with health and
safety responsibilities.
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Sanctions
for Non-Compliance
If
inspectors arrive from either the Health and Safety Executive
(the HSE is responsible for factories, farms and building
sites) or the local authority (responsible for offices, shops,
hotels and catering) and find a business in breach of health
and safety regulations there are a number of types of enforcement
action they can take, in increasing order of severity, as
follows:
- offer
advice, either face to face or in writing
- issue
a warning, highlighting a failure to comply with the law
- serve
an improvement notice
- withdraw
approvals to undertake certain activities
- vary
licencing conditions or exemptions
- issue
formal cautions (a formal statement of an offence having
been committed, acknowledged by the recipient)
- serve
a prohibition notice (to stop activities in order to prevent
serious personal injury)
- prosecute
at the magistrates or Crown Court. This may lead to fines
from £5,000 up to a maximum of £20,000 in the
lower courts and unlimited fines in the Crown Court. In
extreme cases it can lead to imprisonment.
At
the same time employees may take civil actions against their
employer if they suffer injury or illness and the employer
has breached the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations
1999.
Why
Managing Health and Safety Makes Sense
In
addition to avoiding legal sanction, recent statistics show:
- every
working day, there are over 6,000 people injured at work
- every
year, 2.3 million people take time off because of work-related
illness
- approximately
33 million work days are lost each year because work has
made people ill
- almost
40% of over three-day injuries involve handling, lifting
and carrying and nearly a quarter result from slipping and
tripping.
Accidents
and ill health can be very damaging to business because, in
addition to personal injury claims and the direct costs, productivity
can be severely compromised. The less visible costs are many
and varied and include increased overtime working and temporary
labour, stress and more staff absence, production delays,
repairs to equipment, costs of management time, customer dissatisfaction
and loss.
These are compelling reasons why it makes sense to manage
health and safety proactively.
Five-Step
Process to Managing Health and Safety
The
HSE has produced ‘Successful health and safety management’
(HSG65) which is an excellent guide on how to plan for and
audit health and safety. It suggests a five-step process as
set out below.
Step 1
Set your policy. This demonstrates to staff that you take
health and safety issues seriously, have identified the risks
associated within your business, have assessed those risks
and will continue to eliminate or control them.
Step 2
Organise your staff. The effectiveness of your policy depends
upon the involvement and commitment of your staff.
Step 3
Plan and set standards. This involves setting health and
safety objectives, identifying hazards, assessing risks and
implementing standards of performance.
Step 4
Measure your performance. This is about looking at whether
your assessments are showing an improvement or the same issues
are repeating themselves. Regular inspections and checks should
be made to ensure your standards are being met.
Step 5
Learn from experience. If things have gone wrong, this
is about reviewing how effective your procedures are and then
making changes to improve the effectiveness of these policies
and procedures.
Practical
Tips
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The
following are some practical actions you could and should
be taking today:
- removing
items from the work area such as cables and other
loose items, which can cause tripping and slipping
accidents
- repairing
torn carpets and broken edges on staircases to avoid
the risk of serious falls
- making
sure that workstations are stable, don’t give
off a reflective glare and ensuring there is suitable
seating and hand and foot-rests so that staff maintain
good posture whilst working
- insisting
that staff take regular breaks, particularly if working
for long stretches at a VDU screen
- undertaking
regular fire drills and ensuring first aid training
is updated regularly
- keeping
the first aid box(es) fully stocked and readily available
- setting
up a system to regularly check all electrical appliances
and fire extinguishers
- ensuring
that staff are aware of the potential risks of performing
certain tasks and checking that they are fit to undertake
those tasks or know how to do them safely.
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How
We Can Help
Health
and safety is an important, if not sometimes neglected, area.
To help you meet your responsibilities we have provided a
simple checklist that you may wish to complete to identify
areas within your business that need attention.
We will be more than happy to provide you with assistance
or any additional information required.
HEALTH
AND SAFETY CHECKLIST
If
not already in place, the following are practical steps you
should take today:
UNDERTAKEN BY: ______________________________ DATE: / /
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Yes
|
No |
| 1
Is an Employer’s Liability Insurance Certificate
displayed? |
|
|
| 2
Is a Health and Safety Poster displayed? |
|
|
| 3
Have all outstanding tasks from previous risk assessments
been completed? |
|
|
| 4
Are their sufficient Fire Marshalls? |
|
|
| 5
Are there sufficient Fire Action Notices displayed to
inform staff of the procedures to take in the event of
a fire? |
|
|
| 6
Are all new recruits advised of the Health and Safety
procedures? |
|
|
| 7
Is the fire alarm tested regularly? |
|
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| 8
When was it last tested and by whom? |
|
|
| 9
When were the fire extinguishers last tested? |
|
|
| 10
Is the first aid box complete and available to all staff? |
|
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| 11
Are there sufficient trained first aiders? |
|
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| 12
Is there an accident book and is it being used? |
|
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| 13
When was the last time portable electrical equipment was
tested by an electrician? |
|
|
| 14
Is the electrical equipment labelled and dated with the
test? |
|
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| 15
Have risk assessments of display equipment been undertaken
within the last 12 months? |
|
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| 16
Is everyone aware of their right to free eye tests? |
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| 17
Are all items of mechanical cutting equipment adequately
guarded (shredders, guillotines etc.)? |
|
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| 18
Are filing cabinets where more than one drawer can be
opened at a time bolted down? |
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| 19
Have staff been advised to take precautions when changing
toner cartridges? |
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| 20
Are trolleys etc. provided to assist in the manual handling
of loads? |
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| 21
Are heavy, frequently used items stored on waist level
shelves? |
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| 22
Are steps available for reaching items stored at height? |
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| 23
Is lighting adequate and in good working order? |
|
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| 24
Is there a suitably marked drinking water supply available? |
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| 25
Are passage ways clear of tripping hazards eg cables,
boxes, rubbish etc.? |
|
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| 26
Are the tops of cabinets clear of heavy items that could
fall? |
|
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| 27
Are all entrances and exits in good working order (no
grease, broken slabs, poor lighting etc.)? |
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Top
of page
For information of users: This material is published
for the information of clients. It provides only an overview
of the regulations in force at the date of publication, and
no action should be taken without consulting the detailed
legislation or seeking professional advice. Therefore no responsibility
for loss occasioned by any person acting or refraining from
action as a result of the material can be accepted by the
authors or the firm.
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C o m p l e t
e 
Regulated
to carry on audit work for a range of investment business
activities by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England
and Wales