Health and Safety at Work Act
The next issue I am going to focus on is the employers duty of care in practice. It is imperative that all employers, despite the size of their company ensure of certain factors, and examples of of these factors are shown below:
- Ensuring the workplace is safe.
- Provide adequate first aid facilities.
- Have emergency plans for potential risks.
Firstly, employers should prevent the risks of injury within the workplace as much as possible. Following this, if an injury was to occur then there should be first aid facilities than can deal with the problem effectively. Finally, if an injury was to occur then the employer should have emergency plans so that it can be dealt with to the highest standard so as the person involved is treated in the most effective way possible.
In order for the workplace to be safe and healthy, an employer should:
- Light premises so that employees can work and move safety.
- Ensure that employees are their necessary work break.
- Store items so they are unlikely to cause an injury.
These are some examples above of what an employer is expected to ensure of in the workplace for the health and safety of people involved with the company. Firstly, the premises should be at the correct light so as people an see what they are doing and the chance of an injury will therefore be decreased. The employers must also ensure that their employees have the adequate time break so that they are able to operate effectively, on both a person and business level. A hazard that is often a cause of injury within a workplace is when items are not stored correctly and when to storage cupboard is opened it falls, causing an injury. This is therefore vital for the employers to ensure that employees are able to store items correctly to prevent injury.
The rights of an employee within the workplace with regards to health and safety are shown below.
- To have any risks to your health and safety properly controlled by your employer.
- To be provided, free of charge, any personal protective and safety equipment
- If there are reasonable concerns about your safety, to stop work and leave your work area, without being disciplined.
- To tell your employer about any health and safety concerns you have.
COSHH
This is a law that requires employers to control substances that are hazardous to health. This meaning of this law is shown below.
C ONTROL
O F
S UBSTANCES
H AZADOUS
H EALTH
An employer will be able to prevent employees exposure to these substances by:
- Identifying the health hazards.
- Creating a risk assessment.
- Provide training to employees to understand these substances.
- Provide training to employees so they know how to deal with an accident involving these substances.
- Planning for emergencies.
There are often chemicals and substances within a workplace that are hazardous to employees healthy, and through using 'COSHH' then the chance of employees having an injury that is related to chemicals or substances in the workplace is significantly reduced. This is on the assumption that the employer takes into consideration the points stated above.
Most businesses use substances, or products that are mixtures of substances. Some create substances that could cause harm to employees and people within the workplace. Sometimes substances are easily recognised as harmful such as paint, bleach or dust from natural materials may also be harmful. The company itself would be responsible for carrying out the procedure above and any equipment necessary to ensure the employees and people within the workplace are not effected by hazardous substances. The necessary equipment needed to ensure this will also need to be maintained by the company itself.
Fire Precaution Act 1971
This legislation deals with factors including:
- The detection process and giving a warning in case of a fire.
- The process of escape from the danger.
- The way to fight and combat a fire.
- The training of staff with regards to fire safety.
This legislation focusses on safety within the workplace with regards to the chance of a fire. This is designed to ensure that employees are able to prevent a fire occurring as much as possible. However, in the case of a fire employees would be able to deal with it effectively so as the safety of people involved are ensured.
The first point looks at the importance of being able to identify that there is in fact a fire within the premises. This can be done through having adequate and effective fire and smoke alarms located thoroughly throughout the workplace. If a fire is identified then people within the workplace will need to know the process of escaping to safety. This can be done by having fire exists in the workplace, with employees of the company taking control of the situation and ensuring people within the premises are re-assured and are guided step by step to safety. In some cases there will need to be staff trained that are trained in being able to combat a fire whilst emergency services on on route to the premises. This can be done with effective training in fire extinguishers and necessary equipment used to combat a fire.
As it is the resource manager's responsibility to deal with the safety of employees and customers, then it will consequently have an effect on them. For example, they will have to send staff on training courses regarding fire safety which will be at a cost. However, this training is a necessity and will be needed by the company.
As well as this, there will be changes in equipment such as more modern and effective fire extinguishers. Therefore, further training with regards to this be needed to be carried out by the resource manager to ensure that certain employees can use these pieces equipment effectively in the event of a fire. Employees may have to go on training courses mean that they will not be able to work whilst this training is being carried out. This training could be off the job and could be at a different premises to their workplace and therefore these employees need to be willing to commit to this so as the training on new equipment can be complete. This equipment would be the responsibility of the company who is providing the training to another company to make sure it is in the appropriate condition so that the safety of trainees is ensured.
The Control of Noise at Work Regulation 1989
This legislation came into force for all industry sectors in Great Britain on 6th April 2006. The aim of this legislation is to ensure that employees hearing is protected from excessive noise in the workplace, which has the possibility of damaging their hearing or can be a cause of tinnitus. The level at which employers must provide hearing protection is 85 decibels, on the means that it is a daily or weekly average exposure.
Employers must access the situation regarding this legislation and where it is necessary, ensure that:
- Hearing protection is provided and used.
- They provide information, training and health surveillance where it is needed.
Certain factors can be used to judge whether there is a problem with noise in a workplace. These factors are shown below:
- Whether employees have to raise their voice to carry out a normal conversation from about two metres apart.
- Whether employees use noisy powered tools or machinery for more than half an hour a day.
- If there are noises due to impacts, such as hammering.
The purpose of this act is to ensure of the health and safety of people within a business in regards to the noise in the workplace. The resource manager will have to purchase the necessary equipment to measure to decibel level in the premises so that the right precautions can be carried out if they do in fact reach a certain level. For example, if the noise in the workplace does exceed 85 decibels then it means that the resource manager will have to purchase the necessary equipment to ensure that the hearing safety of people with the premises are ensured. Equipment that would usually be used are ear plugs, which primarily cut out exterior noise pollution, and allow the person to hear people from a close range.
Conclusion
In summary, a resource manager will have to take into account certain legislations and factors so that the health and safety of people involved within a company, such as employees and customers are ensured. This may mean that they will have to purchase equipment and use training to have be able to do so.
