Take the risk out of your health and safety assessments

Citation

(2002), "Take the risk out of your health and safety assessments", Facilities, Vol. 20 No. 3/4. https://doi.org/10.1108/f.2002.06920caf.003

Take the risk out of your health and safety assessments

Take the risk out of your health and safety assessments

The Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) and the Management of Health and Safety Regulations (1992) require every business to assess risks in the workplace. Increasingly, employers are expected to be able to demonstrate proper health and safety management with appropriate systems in place. This may be to the Health and Safety Executive themselves, to your insurers, potential investors or your employees. Good management practice places high expectations on employers to show they are managing this subject properly.

Accidents can happen

Poor attention to Health and Safety costs money. The latest calculations from the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) estimate accidents cost British business over £18 billion per annum. In addition, by computing the 1.6 million workplace injuries and the 2.1 million cases of work-related ill health each year with the working population, one in seven employees in the UK is affected each year. That's over £600 per employee per year.

It's a risky business

Although certain types of business and organisation may, by their nature, be more prone to health and safety risks, every single one must conduct appropriate risk assessments. Those with five or more employees must document their significant findings, necessitating a suitable system to do so. Not only are risk assessments a legal requirement, more and more insurance companies are insisting on proper systems to justify cover. Related premiums are now rising fast (10 to 15 per cent per year) but insurers sometimes reduce premiums where they see that assessments have been conducted satisfactorily and good systems are in place.

It's your responsibility

The responsibility for health and safety lies with the directors or owners of a business or organisation. Although the function can be delegated to the health and safety officer or other "competent person", the buck stops with the proprietor of the business who has ultimate responsibility. Indeed, it's a big buck and it can certainly have the potential to cost you significantly if neglected, in monetary terms and even your liberty!

Previously, there has been a trend by small and medium sized businesses to "contract out" the management of their health and safety policy and activities. However, recent European and UK regulations now make it necessary to have some competence "in-house". Whilst the use of external advisors can still be beneficial, a good degree of both expertise and involvement is now essential within your own organisation.

Code of conduct

The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) recently published a draft code of conduct for company directors emphasising the health and safety responsibilities of directors, including those in the public sector. This code recommends that boards appoint one of their number to be the health and safety director. Organisations such as the CBI, the IoD, and the TUC are known to be contributing to the code with a view to it becoming "expected" practice and included within corporate standards of governance.

This appointed person is to be the board's "champion" on health and safety risk management issues. He or she should be specifically responsible for ensuring that any risks arising from the company's or organisation's activities are managed properly. This, as they affect the welfare of not only employees, but also members of the general public. In addition, the code seeks to ensure that everyone at board level recognises and acts upon their significant responsibilities for health and safety issues and it becomes integrated to their business activity and culture.

As a standard of corporate governance, institutional investors are also requiring evidence of compliance with business regulations as they seek to measure and manage their investment risks. This has obvious importance for small and medium size businesses seeking to grow with new investment.

Accidents will happen

The true test of your health and safety policy and documented compliance plan is most likely to be when there is an accident on your premises or involving one of your employees. In this event, the HSE will most likely investigate. Your risk assessments, your documentation, reports and remedial actions will then come under close scrutiny. If they fail to meet the requirements trouble can quickly follow. Required remedial actions are expected to be implemented quickly. If they are not, or are deemed insufficient, severe sanctions from authorities are inevitable.

Courts can impose serious fines and even imprison those responsible. Remember, as mentioned above, the ultimate responsibility will always lie with the owners and/or directors of the organisation. Furthermore, fines and penalties will not be covered by any insurance policy and so are likely to have an effect on the profitability of your business, maybe even threatening its ultimate viability.

Insurance implications

Whilst on the subject of insurance, it is also worth mentioning that documented risk assessments and evidence of remedial action are now becoming a requirement of many insurance policies. Your employer's liability insurer may well soon make it a requirement of providing you with cover, if they have not already done so.

However, the good news is that once you have completed your risk assessments and can show that any deficiencies are being routinely reviewed and addressed, you may well be able to negotiate a reduction in premiums. Indeed, it doesn't stop there; there are many other benefits to having implemented your health and safety plans.

Reducing red tape

It is widely recognised that small and medium size employers are suffering particularly from the growing tide of "red tape", requiring compliance with legislation and regulations. It could be said that the need to undertake and document health and safety risk assessments has contributed to this trend; however, effective solutions are available and there are benefits to the employer as well as the employee.

Computer based systems can significantly reduce the effort and time required to undertake the process and complete the necessary documentation. The simplicity and ease of use of more recent software means the tasks can often be delegated to an appointed "competent person" to carry out while being managed centrally or even remotely.

Satisfying standards

Current management standards in the UK and Europe (BS EN 8800/OHSAS 18001/2) set out the need for regular risk assessments. Any company that is looking to implement a thorough system or gain assessment against these standards, will need to have the policy and procedures for regular risk assessments at the centre of their plans.

In addition, it is expected that later this year an international standard will be approved by the International Standards Organisation (ISO) for global application similar to ISO 9000 in recent years for quality management.

To your advantage

Although it may be viewed as a chore to complete, once finished, your risk assessment will obviously have the positive benefit of reducing the likelihood of accidents in the workplace. In addition, although they are less likely to happen(!) if an accident does now occur, your evidence of compliance with the regulations can make the resulting investigation by the HSE a much less onerous experience and help you to minimise or avoid resulting bad publicity. Your evidence from proper documentation demonstrates your duty of care as an employer.

Compensation culture

Recent figures indicate that the UK is now amongst the countries with the most employee v. employer litigation. There are both an increasing number of cases being brought and the value of compensation awards is growing dramatically. Often these are aimed at the employer for work-related accidents and ill health. Although such litigation is a worrying trend, again, evidence of complying with the regulations and requirements for risk assessment could well prove critical in a court of law.

Software solutions

Computer-based health and safety risk assessments systems such as HaSARD Manager from the Trafalgar Computer Group can significantly reduce the time and effort required to complete your obligations. Some, such as HaSARD Manager, can also be easily adapted to suit your own particular applications and circumstances.