I need health and safety advice – Where can I get it? 

Why is it a good idea to get health and safety advice? With 1.8 million UK workers suffering from a work-related illness and 123 people fatally injured as well as health and safety breaches costing organisations millions in fines (2020/21), prioritising the health, safety and wellbeing of workers goes beyond a legal obligation, it also makes good business sense.

Why do I need health and safety?

As an employer, you have a duty to take reasonable care of the health and safety of employees, so they are not exposed to an unnecessary risk, either in the workplace or when working at home. But, maintaining health and safety compliance with regulations can be a challenge, especially if you lack the right skills and expertise, creating risks in your business.

Making the workplace safe and healthy is all about managing risks so that you can protect your workers and your business. Depending on what your business does and its size, you need to fulfil a set of requirements that can include the following:

• A health and safety policy if you employ more than five people.
• Undertake risk assessments to identify hazards and assess the risk they pose.
• Make employees aware about health and safety and provide training on company policies.
• Continuous monitoring and improvement of safety arrangements.
• Establish procedures in the event of accidents or incidents.

Even if your business does not face high hazard health and safety challenges, that doesn’t mean you can avoid the basics – whether it’s slips, trips and falls; general working environment; or customers visiting your premises, accidents can happen. So, you need to make sure that your workplace is safe at all times.

Where can I find information on health and safety?

In order to create safe and healthy workplaces, you’ll need to understand what your legal responsibilities are and what you need to do to make sure you’re providing safe working conditions. To keep up with current and evolving regulations and to avoid fines or legal action if you’re not compliant, the main sources for advice and guidance on health and safety issues are provided by:

Health and Safety Executive UK (HSE)

Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland (HSE)

Gov.UK

Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas)

British Safety Council

Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

You may also want to seek help and advice from an external source if your business does not have a competent person in-house who can manage your health and safety responsibilities, or you have complex or high risks.

What are the benefits of a health and safety consultancy?

Health and safety consultancies are popular choices for external competent advice, who hold qualifications in health and safety and experience across multiple industries to provide accurate advice for a range of business needs. Acting as an extension to your business, this can mean specialist advice and knowledge for your risk assessment process.

With the average cost to employ a Health and Safety Manager starting from £37k pa. outsourcing to a health and safety consultant can help you:

• Free up time to concentrate on growing your business.
• Make your business more attractive to employees and customers.
• Gain a competitive advantage.
• Peace of mind, knowing health and safety is in the hands of experts.

Click here to read some frequently asked questions about health and safety.