Not so safe work places

Whether you’re in charge of a construction site, manufacturing plant, call centre or veterinary practice, every single employee under your wing has the right to feel safe at work.

However, sadly that’s not always the case. Research conducted by us* uncovered that one in 10 employees do not feel safe at their place of work.

Those aged 55 and over are most likely to feel safe at work, and employees between 25 and 34-years-old are least likely to feel safe.

Geographically, employees in the North East are most likely to feel insecure in their work’s environment. On the other end of the spectrum, Northern Ireland came out as the safest region.

Why so unsafe?

There are many reasons employees can feel unsafe at work. From sub-standard working conditions and lack of policies and procedures, to abusive behaviour and non-existent management standards (like risk assessments), perilous work places can stem from many forms.

Starter guide to safety

We’re sure it goes without saying that 10% of employees feeling unsafe at work is too many. To help you get that number down to zero, we’ve put together a basic checklist on how to make the Health & Safety grade.

Health & Safety action	Yes/No
Appoint a competent person to help you meet your Health & Safety obligations. This could be an internal employee, or by outsourcing expert help – like Citation!
Put together a comprehensive Health & Safety policy detailing who does what, when they do it, and how they do it. If you’ve got more than five employees on your books, this must be in writing. Need a hand? Get in touch.
Conduct and maintain risk assessments for anything in your business that could cause employees, clients or customers harm. If any red flags appear during a risk assessment, put all necessary measures in place to prevent them from materialising.
Communicate all relevant areas of Health & Safety with your employees. This could be through regular information and training sessions, explaining the results of risk assessments, or walking them through how Health & Safety affects the job they do – to name just a few.
Make sure you keep on top of employees’ Health & Safety training to ensure they’re valid and up-to-date. Our handy online platform – Atlas, can do all this for you.
Provide workplace facilities that cater for everyone’s needs – including those with disabilities. Here are a handful of things you need to consider: • Drinking water • Toilets and hand basins with soap and towels/hand dryers • Suitable lighting • Reasonable temperature • Well-maintained premises and equipment. Remember, these are just a few of the areas you need to consider. For a comprehensive list, get in touch with our Health & Safety experts.
Ensure you have adequate first aid arrangements in place. As a bare minimum, you must have: a sufficiently stocked first aid box, an individual in charge of first aid provisions, and provide employees with all information relevant to first aid arrangements.
Under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) you’re legally required to report certain workplace incidents.
Display the Health & Safety law poster in all your premises’. This will not only ensure you comply with the law, but it’ll promote your focus on employee wellbeing too.
Make sure you have a clear process in place, whereby all employees feel comfortable to raise any Health & Safety concerns.
Run fire risk assessments annually, or whenever there’s a significant change on your business’ premises.
Have a thorough and clearly communicated fire evacuation plan in place, and run annual fire drills. During the drills, make note of any areas in need of improvement and address them.

The benefits of safe working practices

• You’ll stay on the right side of the law and steer clear of costly fines.
• Employees will see you take their Health & Safety seriously, which’ll make them feel valued and cared for.
• You’ll remove distractions and increase productivity.

We’re here

Our experienced Health & Safety support experts are here to help you with anything from fire safety and risk assessments, to RIDDOR reports and the production of health and safety policies.

To find out just how much we could help you, get in touch or give us a call on 0345 844 1111.

*3gem questioned a nationally representative sample of 2,000 working adults aged 18 and over between 11th and 14th July 2017.