What do you need to do?
Managing health and safety doesn’t have to be complicated, costly or time consuming. For many businesses you just need to complete a series of practical tasks that will safeguard people from harm and protect the future success and growth of your business. The approach you take should be proportionate to the size of your business and the nature of your business activity. For most small low risk businesses the steps you need to take are straightforward.
So what are the steps?
Step 1 – Appoint someone to manage your Health & Safety duties
As a business owner you need someone with the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to manage health and safety for your business. If you run a low risk business it’s likely you can manage this with a little support. For a higher risk business you might want to get extra advice.
Step 2 – Write a Health & Safety policy
You need to let your employees and others know about your commitment to health and safety. The easiest way to do this is through a policy. It should cover who is responsible for what, when and how. If you have fewer than 5 employees you don’t need to write down your health and safety policy, however it many be beneficial to do this. In some cases if you are doing work for larger companies they may ask you for your health and safety policy before you can start any work.
Step 3 – Assess the workplace risks
To control risks in your workplace you need to think about what might cause harm to people and decide whether you are taking reasonable steps to prevent that harm. You are probably already taking steps to protect your employees but by completing a risk assessment you will know you have covered everything you need to. If you have fewer than 5 employees you don’t need to write down your risk assessment, however it many be beneficial to do this. In some cases if you are doing work for larger companies they may ask you for your risk assessment before you can start any work.
Step 4 – Consult with employees and provide appropriate training and facilities
You need to consult with all your employees on health and safety. You should talk to them regularly about the work they do, how risks are controlled and what information or training they need to stay safe.
When you provide training ask your employees what they think about it to make sure it is relevant and effective. Keeping training records is the best way to identify when refresher training might be needed. You also need to make sure you’re providing the right workplace facilities.
Need a little help?
Easy Safety can help with risk assessments and policies. The typical starting cost for creating a risk assessment and policy is around £199 depending on the scope of work and the size of the company.
If you need help creating any documents or are unsure what documents you require please contact us below.
