Health & safety policy

If Your Health and Safety Policy is Out of Date, it Could Cost You £126,000

In 2016-17, the HSE had a 93 per cent conviction rate, with the average penalty costing organisations £126,000. Now, take a minute to review your health & safety policy —are they sufficient enough to avoid such a staggering fine? If you’re unable to arrive at a satisfactory answer, you may need to review your policies. Even though such a task may seem too large and intimidating to properly address, it can be made more manageable with the following strategies:

 

  • Assess your risks. Undertake a formal risk assessment of your organisation at least once per year. These assessments should examine tasks, equipment, methods and work environments to identify potential risks. Be sure to keep a written copy if you have at least five employees.

 

  • Discuss health and safety issues with your employees. Meet with your employees to discuss what risks they regularly encounter.

 

  • Consult health and safety specialists. For certain situations or equipment, your organisation should contact a certified specialist to conduct an inspection. Ideally, these inspections should be conducted at least annually.

 

  • Review and revise your inspection programme. Your organisation’s risk management and inspection programmes should be reviewed annually, or after any health and safety incidents have occurred.

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