HEALTH & SAFETY(H&S)

Health and Safety Legislation

Every jurisdiction has legal requirements that must be met for your organization to operate a safe and healthy workplace.

As a general guideline, health and safety legislation can be met by following these steps:

•  Everyone has a role to play in health and safety
• Everyone’s roles should be clearly defined
• The emphasis should be on managing work risks
• Those who create the risks should be accountable

Engaging employees in health and safety can reduce your risks. You have flexibility in managing your health and safety risks. Depending on your industry, the health and safety requirements for your organization may vary.

It is often perceived that organizations are required to record their health and safety efforts on paper. Although this may be helpful for some organizations, it is not a requirement, and other practices could work just as well, if not better.

Why is health and safety important?  

Health and Safety play a vital role in ensuring all employees feel comfortable at work. It is more common than not that addressing health and safety-related issues in the workplace is more burdensome for an organization than ensuring health and safety from the beginning.

Here are some benefits of having an effective health and safety program:

1. It is morally right for you to ensure your workers return home safely and healthy at the end of every working day.
2. Protecting your workers will minimize absences, making your workplace more efficient and productive.
3. Studies have shown that employees are more productive at workplaces that promote health and safety.
4. The less disruption caused by illness and accidents, the more money you save.
5. Some countries consider health and safety legislation to be criminal law and you are obligated to comply. Those found in breach of the law can be prosecuted, fined, and even imprisoned.
6. Investing in sustainability and corporate social responsibility, which include protecting your workers, may help you attract investors and partnerships.
7. Customers increasingly want to buy products and services that are ethically produced. Therefore, you need to consider workplace practices throughout your supply chain and deal only with ethical suppliers that protect their workers.
8. Nowadays, job seekers – especially Millennials and Generation Z – seek employers with similar values, so it will be difficult to attract and retain the best employees without strong corporate responsibility and sustainability practices.
9. An excellent health and safety record can be a competitive advantage: it boosts brand recognition, while a poor health and safety performance can affect profits and result in losses of trade.
10. You, your business, and the wider community benefit from health and safety at work.