There are a ton of different work environments, but no matter which one you’re in, it’s equally important you keep your employees safe. Whether you work in an office or on a construction site, you must take the necessary steps to keep your employees happy and unharmed. Take a look at the following points to make sure you’re doing everything you can:
Train Them in First Aid
First of all, have your employees trained in first aid. This is very important if you often work in a dangerous environment. This isn’t as important if you work in an office, but you should still have at least one first aider in the building at all times, usually the office manager. First aid is a great skill to have, and can stop any further problems from happening while you wait for outside help to arrive. You never know what might happen, so make sure you’re all prepared with first aid training. You should also have a designated first aid box, clearly signposted so that everybody knows where to find it. By the first aid box, you should have a poster with instructions on what to do in the event of an emergency. These extra measures can really save lives.
Make Sure You Brief Them on Health and Safety
All of your employees should be briefed on health and safety, no matter what environment you work in. They should know how to handle an accident, what to do in the event of a fire, and where all of the emergency exits are. You should all be totally confident that should an emergency arise, you will be able to handle it effectively.
Regularly Refresh Their Knowledge on Health and Safety
Health and safety training shouldn’t just happen once never to be heard of again. It should be an ongoing thing. How regularly you do it will depend on the profession. Nursing homes for instance, must do it once or twice per year. Construction sites will need to do it regularly too. Even if you’re in an office, you should do a refresher course on this stuff once per year. You can’t be too careful in business!
Identify Hazards and Make Sure Staff are Capable Too
You need to regularly identify any potential hazards in the workplace. You should also make sure that staff are aware of these hazards, and that they are capable of identifying any new hazards that happen to crop up. A potential hazard could be something as simple as a wire that could be tripped on.
Check Over Equipment Regularly
Any equipment you use should be checked over regularly. Depending on the type of equipment, it may need to be checked on more or less often. Either way, you and your staff should check the equipment to ensure that it’s in full working order and that there are no damages. If there are damages, it’s up to you to pay for a repair or a replacement. If you don’t bother, you might find you end up with a russellworthsolicitors accident at work claim.
Give Proper Training for Equipment
Not only should your equipment be in full working order, you should always give proper training for the equipment. Your staff should be totally confident with the equipment they use, especially if the equipment is large and dangerous.
Have a Strict No Bullying/Harassment in the Workplace Policy
Keeping your employees safe isn’t just about stopping them from tripping over wires or falling from ladders. It’s also about keeping them safe from other employees. Of course you’d like to think that all of your employees are trustworthy and reliable, but some of them don’t have the same outlook as others. What one employee considers harmless flirting, another employee may consider sexual harassment. What one employee considers playful banter, another may consider bullying in the workplace. You need to keep a close eye on this, and have a strict no bullying/harassment policy. In an ideal world, all of your staff members will be a great team and get on swimmingly. Unfortunately this isn’t always the case, so it’s up to you to nip certain things in the bud before they get worse.
Make Sure Your Staff Know They Can Come to You
Make sure your staff know that if there are any problems, they can come and talk to you about it. You need to make this clear, as sometimes you can say it but your staff will still feel as if they can’t speak to you about certain things. A staff member may want to come to you about a broken piece of equipment, or even to tell you that they feel threatened by another employee. You need to make sure you handle these situations with care. You must be kind to the employee who comes to you, but firm with an employee that has been upsetting others.
This is where things can get difficult. Some bosses like to be very pally with their employees, but this will make it harder for you to discipline them. You need to make it clear that certain behaviour will not be tolerated, and be prepared to give out warnings. If behaviour has been exceptionally shocking, then be prepared to let employees go on the spot. You need to focus on keeping everybody else happy and safe. Plus, an unruly employee could harm your business!
Have Appropriate Insurance
Finally, you must have appropriate insurance. Make sure you’re covered for everything that could go wrong. Your employees should be protected, as well as any customers that you come into contact with on a daily basis. Your buildings and its contents should be insured too. If you’re not properly insured, any claims made against you could leave you in a lot of financial trouble. Insurance won’t protect you from everything though, so make sure you use the other points above to keep your business running smoothly.
Keeping your employees safe should be your number one priority. Use this guide and you should be fine!
