Health & Safety Regulation where to start?
The basis of Health and Safety Law, begins with the Health and Safety At Work Act 1974. This sets out the general duties which employers have towards employees and members of the public, and the employees have to themselves and to each other.
For Further Information on Health & Safety Legislation from HSE click here
As the employer they have to take action when the risk is proportionate to the risk and reduce the risk based on the time, trouble and cost.
For Further Information on ALARP & SFAIRP from HSE click here
The first stage would be if you have more than 5 employees you have to implement a written Health and Safety Policy and communicate this to your staff, and it typically would include:
- The statement of general policy on health and safety at work sets out your commitment to managing health and safety effectively, and what you want to achieve. (Signed by a Director that has responsibility for Safety)
- The responsibility section sets out who is responsible for specific actions.(Employees, Managers, Supervisors)
- The arrangements section contains the detail of what you are going to do in practice to achieve the aims set out in your statement of health and safety policy
For Further Information on Writing a health & safety policy from HSE click here
The next thing to consider is managing the Risk within your organisation a good starting point would be to conduct a 'Suitable and Sufficient Risk Assessment(s)'
- Identify the hazards (Potential to cause harm)
- Decide who might be harmed and how (Visitors, Contractors, General Public, Employees)
- Evaluate the risks (Is the Risk High, Medium, Low) and decide on precautions (Higher the risk, better physical control measures needed)
- Record your significant findings (Record your Risk Assessments)
- Review your assessment and update if necessary (Review and update regularly - especially after a process change, Accident, Near Miss, Legal update, or a new hazard has been identified)
The final point is providing training for your staff at all levels
Providing health and safety information and training helps you to:
- Ensure that people who work for you know how to work safely and without risks to health
- Develop a positive health and safety culture, where safe and healthy working becomes second nature to everyone
- Meet your legal duty to protect the health and safety of your employees
Sources: HSE website