Why health and safety is a hot topic for UK businesses right nowTrain staff As well as encouraging staff to notify you of any potential problems, it?s a good idea to provide basic health and safety training. Every workplace requires a fully-stocked first aid kit and at least one qualified first-aider too, so if none of your employees hold this certificate, you need to arrange and pay for an employee to take the course. Alongside the professional health and safety legislation, you should set up your own tailored practices when it comes to responding to emergencies and accidents. For example, all your staff should know the following: ? What to do and where to go in a fire drill ( emergency drills should be held regularly to recap);
? Where to locate the first aid box;
? Who the qualified first aider is; and
? How to report an accident or potential hazard. Be aware of changing legislation Health and safety legislation changes all the time, so it is essential to keep up to date with procedures, the required general practices, and legal terms. Familiarise yourself with legal precedent and injury claims more broadly to give you a better understanding of how to respond if an employee suffers an accident or injury.?With new situations arising ? which require a new set of legal practices ? you may find that you discover a hazard in the workplace that has not been addressed before. Therefore, being alert and resolving issues quickly and efficiently as they happen is key to preventing accidents and safeguarding your staff. Monitoring the health and safety of your workspace and employees is a big responsibility, and it is essential that you treat the matter with the utmost professionalism and diligence. Maintaining an open and communicative policy and responding quickly to issues will help to set employees at ease and keep the workplace safe.
This article is written by Slater Heelis, a Manchester-based law firm providing both corporate law and private individual law services, across many different sectors.
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