Employers: Keeping Your Workplace Safe
As a company or business, you’re responsible for the safety and wellbeing of your employees whilst they’re at work. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a local shop, a large office or a branch of an international chain; health and safety has to be one of the first considerations that an employer has on his or her mind. Taking care of your workers not only increases their happiness and productivity, but it could help avoid a lengthy and costly court case for personal injury.
Signage
Displaying the correct signs and warnings around the workplace is key to informing your employees about dangerous situations. Health and safety is a minefield of complex procedures but a lot of accidents can be prevented just by informing your workers of what the dangers are. Signs should be displayed in the expected places like on walls and doors, but you should also ensure that electricals are labelled correctly with the right information. Signage includes, but isn’t restricted to;
• Electronics
• Water and Liquids
• Trip Hazards
• Ramps
• Fire exits
• Fire extinguishers
Plans and Procedures
If an accident or injury were to happen in the workplace, you must ensure that your employees know how to deal with it. In the event of an injury, you must have clear outlines for where the first aid kit is, how to report the incident and who to refer to for more serious injuries. Fire drills are one of the most important parts of health and safety procedures, as there are practices in evacuating and getting to safety. The right plan of action in the event of a fire is to leave all of your belongings and proceed to the designated meeting point in a calm and orderly fashion. Fire drills are rarely taken seriously by employees, and it’s paramount to convince them of the importance.
Supervision and Training
It’s not viable for smaller businesses to have on site health and safety officers, so employers must ensure that all of their staff are trained and instructed in how to act, use equipment and react to situations. Providing them with the right training to be able to work alone will reduce the risk of injury and accident. The idea is to enable workers to be safe in their activities, rather than trying to over-complicate issues which could potentially be dangerous. The right information can often be the perfect prevention for accidents.
Byline: This article has been written by Thompsons Scotland, accident claim solicitors & injury lawyers who offer specialist legal advice for injury compensation claims.