Health and Safety – Conducting a self-assessment

£16.2 billion – the amount that work-related injuries cost UK businesses each year, and this figure is rising. As too is the number of employees that experience fatal injuries whilst at work – up 142.

No one should ever go to work and fail to return home because of an accident or incident at work.

At a minimum, putting in the maximum number of safeguards possible to prevent a fatal injury from occurring to any of your employees is one of your key responsibilities as an employer.

But what are some of the safeguards that you can implement to prevent a fatal injury from happening?

As part of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, you have a legal, moral, and financial obligation to ensure the safety of your staff, which includes:

• Providing staff with bespoke training for their roles – e.g., if they are handling specialist equipment, they will need to be shown how to operate it, safely.
• Having a health and safety policy in place, and keeping it updated as your business grows.
• Providing your employees with effective and fit-for-purpose equipment – e.g., personal protective equipment (PPE).
• Having access to competent advice to ensure that your policies and procedures are appropriate and up to the required standard for your organisation’s needs.
• For most organisations having your obligations set out in black and white should mean that they are easy to follow and that there should be no issues. However, this is not always the case.

Adhering to the relevant health and safety laws and regulations can often be perceived as being complex and onerous due to the number of responsibilities that you have and how they need to be managed, but it does not have to be.

How can I ensure that I am compliant with my health and safety obligations?

Break your responsibilities down into small, manageable steps. This is the first and most crucial stage in ensuring that you are operating compliantly.

Why?

Because not only does this make keeping up to date with your health and safety obligations a lot simpler, but it also allows you to see what areas you need to work on so that an action plan to improve them can be created to prevent the likelihood of a serious injury occurring.

Act before it is too late

Understanding your current health and safety position can be difficult, and the most challenging step is knowing where you can begin, and what you need to be aware of. Without this knowledge, you cannot drive improvement within your organisation.

To assist you in this process, our expert consultants have put together a detailed self-assessment form to help you identify where you are in relation to your health and safety requirements.

Taking no more than ten minutes, this quick form will provide you with the necessary insight into your current health and safety position and will provide you with the understanding of your next steps to either improve or maintain your current standing.

If you would like assistance in any area of health and safety, we can help. For our full range of services, visit https://www.pennington.org.uk/services/consultancy/occupational-health-and-safety