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The workplace. We both love and hate it, depending on the day, but a lot of work goes into it. There’s a lot of elements to the business model: buying and selling, hiring employees, conducting pay cuts and rises, and then there’s the health and safety part of proceedings.
Safety in the workplace is one of our main priorities. If we can’t make sure that employees are safe whilst conducting business, then we shouldn’t have a business! Here’s a few ideas you may not have picked up on that can help make a healthy working environment more of a reality for you.
Make Sure H&S Policies are Communicated
Making mistakes is part of learning culture, but be sure any you do make don’t immediately set your business up for a fail. That’s where the idea that communication is always key comes in; but a lot of the time information gets lost down the chain of command.
Your employees need to know everything they can do or abide by in case of an accident or otherwise.
Make sure it’s in writing, even if you’re a small business, as 100 employees (and below) requires an official policy notice. Maybe even set up a notice board they can read as soon as they come into work, as this makes sure you’re in the clear.
Set Up a Reliable Safety Committee
Setting up a healthy and safety committee isn’t a necessary part of starting your own business, but you’re not going to get too far without one. Yet, employee union representatives can ask for you to make sure you have one, and when they do it becomes mandatory.
Save yourself some unnecessary hassle by having this delegated out from day one to your employees.
You’ll also need to carry out risk assessments from day one, as this is mandatory by law. Make sure it encompasses literally any hazard that could crop up, such as height or weight restrictions, no signposts where a trip hazard could be, and then keep a record of any instance or violations of these.
Make Sure You Have Insurance
Insurance can be complicated, and that means we can go for whatever sounds about right without looking into the details. With multiple insurance types covering different aspects of your workplace, make sure you take into account every option you come across before settling on a provider.
Types such as liability or property insurance are some of the best to have on your side, but of course depending on your situation you may not need them.
It’s these considerations that can make it a little complicated! Yet, if you know how business insurance covers your risks, then you’re already one step ahead of the competition.
Overall, don’t cut corners when it comes to matters of health and safety. It’s always better to be safe than sorry after all, so don’t be afraid to go overboard. If your employees are comfortable in their workplace, your customers will be too.
How do you promote a safety culture in your organization? Share below.
