Health and Safety

How well do you understand your obligations under Health and Safety Law?

Many small companies do not fully understand their obligations under Health and Safety Law, and do not realise that the Health and Safety at Work Act is one of very few pieces of legislation in the UK where the Company, including its managers, are presumed to be guilty, after the accident, unless they can prove that they took all reasonable steps to prevent it.

It is not enough to put goggles at the grinder and still not enough to put a notice on the machine saying no grinding without eye protection. It is not enough even to give the employee training, (although this goes a long way to establishing "innocence") ; it must not be possible for the employee to argue that use of the machine without eye protection was established custom and practice in the company.

Companies with more than 5 employees must have a written H and S policy, and every company is subject to the Health and Safety at Work Act and to at least 18 other sets of Statutory Health and Safety Regulations, as varied as the "Electricity at Work Regulations" and the "H and S (Training for Employment) Regulations". All this, of course, is before the introduction of six sweeping pieces of European Legislation in 1992.

The first that many small companies know of all this is when they have a visit from the Health and Safety Executive, usually after an accident.

Quality Associates regularly runs a 2 day course specifically addressing this area.

Let us help you develop your Health and Safety Policy and advise you on improving Health and Safety in general within your organisation.