BBfA Health & Safety
Who is affected?
Health and safety affects every business regardless of size. Common sense is the right approach to health & safety, and having good plans in place will help protect you, your staff and your customers. Depending on the type of business you run, health & safety laws will be enforced by either the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) or your Local Authority Environmental Health Team.
Top tips:
• Think about the hazards associated with your business activities/premises (e.g. slips and trips, manual handling, falls from height, vehicle movements, stress, exposure to asbestos).
• Assess suitable & sufficient steps that can be taken to prevent people from being harmed.
• Remove risks where you can, and where this is not possible, put measures in place to control them.
• Make a record of your risk assessment and any actions taken (this is a legal requirement if you employ 5 or more people).
• Ensure you have a written Health & Safety Policy. Your policy and risk assessments should be regularly reviewed.
• Give your employees clear instructions, information and adequate training on health & safety issues and the significant findings of your risk assessments (especially for new starters or young persons).
• Don’t forget to think about the safety of customers using your premises, contractors working on site and self-employed people working on your behalf.
• Provide good welfare facilities (e.g. toilets, rest areas, drinking water) and a healthy work environment (clean, light, ventilated);
• Make sure you have Employers’ Liability Insurance;
• Record accidents or incidents and report them to HSE or LA if they are serious including a death or major injury, staff off work for more than 7-days due to an accident, or if a member of public taken to hospital.
Useful Links:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/toolbox/