Health and Safety Plans for Small Businesses

Having a health and safety plan is a legal necessity for every business. From a self-employed ice cream van driver to a multi-national technology business, no matter what the size of your company there are many reasons for making employees aware of and having a health and safety plan in place.

Any business which employs five or more people has a legal obligation to write down their health and safety plan. This benefits both the company and its workers. Whether a new start-up or small business that’s set to expand, there are a few steps and incentives for creating a quality health and safety plan.

Improve Productivity

Creating a thorough health and safety plan and making employees aware of it is a fantastic way to boost worker morale and therefore productivity. Knowing that your employer has your back and is working towards forming a safe environment and putting procedures in place for the good of your health is reassuring for everyone.

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When a plan has been developed be sure to make everyone aware of it by emailing round and holding group meetings to go through it in detail. There may be points which some employees were previously unaware of that change their process to become more efficient.

Protect Employees and the Company

Health and safety related accidents or claims against a company can be highly damaging to its reputation and finances. If a business doesn’t have a health and safety plan in place and it is proven to not have taken the relevant precautions then the employer can be expected to pay out compensation to those involved.

Ensure a health and safety plan is firmly in place to protect the company and employees in the event of an accident. This will act as an important document for demonstrating that all the necessary precautions were taken to prevent it happening, for example, to avoid employees falling in a warehouse things like industrial safety gates need to be installed as a first step safety protocol. It should also ensure that all employees are following the guidelines to reduce the chance of any such incident occurring in the first place.

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Action to Take

When devising a detailed health and safety plan it may come to your attention that certain measures need to be taken to fully comply with it. Take action straightaway by purchasing any essential extra equipment to ensure safe working practices, which will also improve employee morale as they see the company as putting their words into action.

Organise additional staff training where appropriate to make sure everyone is fully aware of their role and duties regarding safety. Obviously businesses working in certain sectors have more hazards and risks to deal with but the attention paid to each one no matter how minor must be at the same level.

Ken
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