Why are safe working practices important?

Safe working practices should be part of your overall management strategy. You may choose to record them as policies in a health and safety handbook for your employees to read. It is important for you as an employer to familiarise yourself with the law surrounding health and safety in the workplace. This is not only crucial for keeping your employees feeling safe; adhering to UK legislation on health and safety at work helps ensure that you avoid fines or legal action that might be taken against you by employees if you fail to comply. As the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) states, you should have a well-being strategy in place with your employees’ health as a priority. A happy team that feels safe is a more productive one. Your safety procedures depend on the different risks posed by your working environment; a restaurant will have different risks to a theatre. However, there are general obligations regarding safe work practices that are relevant to all businesses. This article will help you to understand the law behind safety in the workplace, and the steps towards ensuring that yours is safe for you and your employees.

What are safe work practices?

Safe work practices are initiatives that enable employers to maintain health and safety in their working environment. You are required by law to have a safe working policy in your business if you employ more than five people. You must also provide employees with ‘a safe place of work’ and a ‘safe system of work’.

The main responsibilities that you have as an employer include:

• Informing all staff of any risks in your workplace;
• Working with a competent member of staff or appointed health and safety committee to ensure that risks are periodically assessed;
• Displaying the health and safety law poster clearly for employees to read;
• Providing training to employees, such as in fire safety and first aid;
• Telling your employers about your health and safety policies, optionally providing them with a health and safety handbook;
• Reporting all accidents or incidents in your workplace;
• Looking into causes of work-related psychological stress;
• Getting employee liability insurance, as you can be fined if you are not insured;
• Having facilities in your workplace that are in accordance with welfare standards, such as toilets, sanitary conditions and good ventilation;
• Designing your workplace for the safety of individuals on-site.

These are just some examples of how to create a safe system of work. Depending on your workplace, you may need to consider additional changes or improvements. Ask responsible members of your team to provide feedback on how you can improve your workplace safety, as new risks may appear while they are working for you.

Safety regulations

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 details what every employer is required to do under the HSWA in order to maintain safe working practices in their workplace. It is a good idea to make sure that you have conscientious members of staff who are trained in fire safety, that your whole team knows who has completed safety training, and that everyone can coordinate effectively in the event of an emergency.

Risk assessments

You should carry out regular risk assessments as an employer, in order to monitor that your health and safety policy is followed at all times, but also to make sure that there are no new risks in your team’s workflow.

A risk assessment in line with the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 will include the following steps:

• Identify the hazards in your business;
• Decide on the risk that someone could be harmed and the seriousness of the risk;
• Take steps to control or remove the hazard;
• Create a report of your significant findings;
• Review the controls that you have put in place to manage the hazard, in order to make sure that they are effective.

Health and safety procedures versus health and safety policies

Once you have completed adequate risk assessments in your workplace, you can decide which health and safety procedures are necessary to ensure that the environment is safe for your employees. When you have a clear understanding of what procedures need to be in place, you can consider making these part of your overall company health and safety policies. It is also a good idea to explain to employees in your guide how you plan to handle any accident reports if they are filed. Policies can include:

• How to transport heavy equipment correctly;
• Handling machinery correctly;
• Making sure that employees exposed to loud noise have adequate hearing protection;
• Provision of personal protective equipment (PPE);
• Guidance around fire safety and who is responsible for training;
• How to avoid chemical hazards;
• Safe site access and exit.

Recording these policies in a health and safety handbook enables employees to familiarise themselves with what they must do in order to keep the workplace safe. If your employees have a good understanding of what your policies are, then hazards and incidents are less likely to happen.

Creating a health and safety handbook

So that your employees have a good understanding of the health and safety procedures for your business, encourage them to read your health and safety handbook. It can be part of your company policy that all employees must read such a handbook, in order to reduce the risk of accidents on-site.

How your health and safety handbook looks is up to you, but there are some important elements to consider including when making one:

• A table of contents for easy navigation;
• An amendment record if you decide to change any part of the handbook;
• Your introduction outlining the law that you and your employees are required to follow regarding health and safety;
• How the handbook helps you and your employees to follow health and safety policy;
• Statements explaining how you plan to monitor adherence to your company’s health and safety policy, plus acknowledging the environmental impact of your business and food safety management;
• A safety management structure;
• Your responsibilities and those of your employees;
• A list of policies that your business adheres to, such as your emergency plan and regular risk assessments.

Make sure that your policies are clear and easy to read, as this helps employees to remember the information. You may need to update or change your policies as risks in your workplace evolve.

You should now have a good understanding of safe working practices. This includes how to assess and control risks in the workplace, making sure that your employees are aware of your health and safety policies. Safe working conditions keep your employees feeling secure and healthy, and help them to stay positive about their job. Regardless of your business structure or the nature of your employees’ work, you have a legal duty in accordance with UK legislation to make sure that all of your employees are safe in your workplace. Being organised with your policies, keeping up to date with risk assessments and giving responsible employees safety training will go a long way in keeping everyone who works for you safe. Related: 7 Effective Skills to Help You Become a Better Leader