These days, health and safety is everywhere. And it’s a term that leaves many of us rolling our eyes. When you first started your current job you probably had a health and safety induction or endured several hours worth of health and safety legislation as part of a presentation.
It’s easy to make fun of over-cautious rules and we can complain that health and safety has “gone mad” and taken all the fun out of the things, but essentially, health and safety is there to keep us, as valued employees, safe.
That’s not to say that accidents in the workplace don’t happen – click the link to speak to a workers comp law firm located in Atlanta if you have been involved in an accident at work. However, the best way to avoid these kinds of incidents from happening is by understanding why health and safety is so important in the workplace.
Read on to find out more.
It’s the law!
Simply put, health and safety legislation is put in place because it’s the law. It’s not optional. Both employers and employees need to follow guidelines to keep each other safe and to protect the business’ and employees’ rights.
When your employer makes a mistake and neglects health and safety guidance, you could become injured and then they would face all kinds of legal issues.
The workplace is full of risks
You don’t have to be a trawlerman or a logger to find yourself exposed to risks in the workplace. Every job comes with its own set of risks. Even a comfortable office job could turn deadly if one of the employees slips on the wet floor in the staff room and breaks their neck, or another employee mishandles some common workplace chemicals.
Health and safety allows us to pinpoint the risks that employees like us could face, whether it’s falling down a flight of badly lit stairs in an office block, being crushed by plant machinery on a building site, or suffering burns due to poorly stored chemicals. Following health and safety puts protections and further guidance in place to prevent these kinds of incidents from happening. You can check out Storemasta for reliable equipment to avoid many of these mishaps and accidents. But you will also need diligence to spot potential risks before they become true problems.
It reduces business costs
When health and safety is done correctly and everyone has a good understanding of what is expected of them, then the likelihood of a workplace accident is reduced. This means employers are less likely to lose employees due to injuries and waste more money trying to correct the mistakes and hire new people. The less time employees have off work, the more productive the company will be.
It keeps you safe!
As an employee, the idea of taking time off work due to an injury or an illness means you’ll feel it in your paycheck. Some workers simply cannot afford to get injured at work. Thanks to health and safety, employees can come to work knowing that they’re entering a safe working environment where their safety and welfare is taken seriously.
Many employees in any workplace will be so-called ‘digital natives’’, says David Rowland, the head of marketing EcoOnline. ‘Therefore, your workplace strategies should reflect this’. As such, health and safety software could be the ideal choice for administering your health and safety needs, as it will resonate more with a large number of your employees.
Final thoughts…
It’s worth remembering that health and safety legislation doesn’t mean that your workplace is risk-free. Everyone should do their part to prevent accidents at work from happening. If you’ve been injured at work and you’re facing a workers compensation claim, reach out to a workers comp lawyer, today.
Founder Dinis Guarda
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