Health and safety, a couple of words many people love to hate
, triggering thoughts of health and safety myths and tales.
Whether we like it or not health and safety is here, legislation is in place and it wont be going anywhere. That said it is still important to know you are following the right rules and following them correctly.
We often have people ask if they can do this or that as they have heard it is against health and safety and that fact has baffled them. In a number of cases it does turn out they have been fed a bit of a line and the act/work in question is perfectly fine to be carried out.
Introduced in 1974 the Health and Safety at Work Act (also known as HASAW or HSW) is the primary legislation covering work related health and safety in the UK.
It would be unreasonable to expect all businesses large or small to get their head around the entirety of health and safety legislation and the good news is they dont have to!
All around the country there are companies who specialise in offering health and safety consultancy services to those who require them. They are ideal for smaller businesses who maybe cant afford to have a permanent member of internal staff who can focus on this area. For many small businesses all they may need to know is the basic requirements everyone has to adhere to and then just the specifics relating to their industry.
Health and safety consultants as well as advising you on the areas of you need to focus on can also offer a range of assessments and training services. For example the training of designated employees to hold extra responsibilities such as Fire Warden could be of benefit to the company.
You must also be aware that as of 1999 and the inception of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations every company is required by law to have a member of staff who can provide advice and guidance on matters relating to health and safety.
As previously mentioned this is simply not cost effective for most small businesses so finding a health and safety consultancy firm who are able to provide you with a Competent Person service on a retained basis is advised.
Hopefully this article has provided a helpful initial insight in to the world of health and safety. This is purely a for information piece so next up you need to research and find a suitable health and safety consultant. A quick search on Google will return a number of results for reputable firms all over the UK.