Regardless of whether you are a small business owner or run a large corporation, you need to become familiar with the process involved when employees fill out an accident at work claim and pursuing legal action after suffering an injury at work. In order to minimise the chances of these types of accidents reoccurring, there are a number of things you can do to keep your employees safe in the workplace.
Employers and managers are the ones responsible for prioritising the welfare of their workforce, so be sure to take note of the following means of improving your workplace’s safety standards – for the sake of your business and your employees.
Risk Assessment
As an employer, you have to adhere to a necessary level of care, which means that you have to keep the health, safety and welfare of your workforce a top priority. This begins by taking the time to conduct a full risk assessment of the area your employees work in order to identify potential hazards. A hazard is essentially anything that can cause harm to your workforce, so it is imperative that the risk assessment is thorough and continuously updated.
Reporting injuries/ incident logging
For legal reasons, employers should organise an injury reporting procedure for employees to follow should an accident occur, which should also include an incident log in which you can submit all injuries and keep a record of them. In the incident log, you should have a note of:
- Work-related deaths
- Major injuries
- Work-related diseases
- Near-miss occasions
Training
It is important that everyone that works in your company is properly trained in managing any potential hazards they may encounter during their work as well as the procedures following an accident taking place. This can range from knowing how to operate machinery to knowing where the first aid kit is located – nothing is too small or insignificant when it comes to the safety of your employees.
Businesses with five or more workers
Small businesses are certainly not exempt from having to take precautions when it comes to worker safety. Businesses that employ five or more people are required to not only keep a record of risk assessment findings but also put in place a formal policy in regards to health and safety.
Do you work in a particularly dangerous industry?
With somewhere like an office, the risk of harm to an employee is typically lower than that of a building site, healthcare building or a laboratory. If you are the manager of a construction site or any other industry where employees will regularly encounter potentially hazardous situations, it makes sense that you should consider taking additional precautions to keep your workforce safe. Consider if you need additional signage, training or equipment to keep both yourself and your workforce safe and healthy.
