10 Steps to Safety at Work

We are all aware that whilst health & safety may be down on the list of your day to day priorities, addressing it and making it work for you does provide tangible business benefits.

The HSE regularly point out to businesses that there are ten basic steps you need to follow in order to fulfill your basic obligations. These are listed below, with some examples where appropriate.

1. Decide what could cause harm to people and how to take precautions. This is your risk assessment. You may have to do different assessments for different tasks. For example, young workers or working with machinery.
2. Decide how you are going to manage health and safety in your business. If you have 5 or more employees you need to write this down. This is your health and safety policy. If you have five or more employees, you also need to record and document your risk assessments.
3. If you employ anyone you need Employers Liability Compulsory Insurance and you must display the certificate in your workplace.
4. You must provide free health and safety training for your staff so they know what hazards and risks they may face and how to deal with them. This does not mean you have to send them on expensive courses. A team meeting may suffice, or your local authority may run free workshops for example.
5. You must have competent advice to help you meet your health and safety duties. This can be staff from your business, external consultants/advisers or a combination of these. You are expected to do what is "reasonably practicable" and not use a sledge hammer to crack a nut.
6. You need to provide toilets, washing facilities and drinking water for all your employees, including those with disabilities. These are basic health, safety and welfare needs.
7. You must consult employees on health and safety matters. Again, this can be through team meetings, or during appraisals or one-to-one meetings.
8. If you have employees you must display the health and safety law poster or provide workers with a leaflet with the same information. This will let the member of staff know what is expected of them and how to work in a safe manner.
9. If you are an employer, self-employed or in control of work premises, by law you must report some work-related accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences. This comes under RIDDOR legislation and should not be ignored.
10. If you are a new business you will need to register either with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or your relevant Local Authority.

The above are manageable steps to take to ensure you are not leaving yourself exposed to what can escalate into an expensive and unwanted scenario. Even if you cast a brief eye over how you manage your health and safety and it highlights one or two measures you can improve, then this can only be a step in the right direction for your business.

_{* Compiled by Citation Plc}