The business case for health and safety

Citation

(2005), "The business case for health and safety", Structural Survey, Vol. 23 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ss.2005.11023cab.002

The business case for health and safety

Keywords: Health and safety, Profit, Case studies

The Health and Safety Executive has launched a campaign to persuade businesses that sensible health and safety management is not only beneficial for staff but good for their bottom line as well. The national advertising campaign will be backed up with a new website (www.betterbusiness.hse.gov.uk/). It cites a range of companies who have applied a managed approach and reaped the benefits in terms of improved profitability. Severn Trent plc. reduced their total number of accidents by almost 50 per cent and the proportion of those attributable to musculoskeletal disorders from 75 per cent to around 20 per cent with a resultant decrease in days lost through absence and an anticipated reduction in civil liability claims. Workplace accidents and ill health cost the UK economy up to £6.5 billion a year. A good deal of this is uninsured costs which employers bear themselves and which impacts directly on bottom-line profitability. HSE believes that investment in this area yields positive results in financial as well as personal and societal terms. Enlightened companies realise that good health and safety ultimately makes business sense on many levels.