Health and Safety in the Workplace- Who is responsible?

Health and Safety is a key part of any workplace. After all, it is what keeps employees and customers safe and at a minimal risk of injury. According to the Health and Safety Executive, during 2016/17 there were 1.3 million cases of work-related ill health, as well as 0.6 million non-fatal injuries to workers.

The trouble with health and safety is that it seems all too often that employees think that it is not their job to think about it, that it is someone else’s responsibility.

But is this true? Is health and safety in the workplace down to just one person?

Who is responsible for health and safety?

Whilst you may have people working within your organisation who are employed to oversee the health and safety provisions, the truth is that everyone is responsible for following health and safety policies and procedures whilst they are at work.

The different duties that each person needs to undertake within the business will really depend on their role and positions within the business.

Owners and employers- It makes sense that the majority of the responsibility within a business falls to those who own and run it. An owner and employer will need to implement any health and safety measures, as well as then overseeing them. Depending on the size of the business, they will either take charge of risk assessment and be determining the safety procedures put in place, or ensure that someone has been employed to take on this role.

The Managers ? Supervisions Role in Health and Safety

Managers and supervisors- it is important that anyone who is charge of managing or supervising staff within a business have an understanding of health and safety. Not only do they need to take charge of controlling risk within the workplace, but also the staff that they manage or supervise understands key pieces of information and has access to training too.

Employees- every single employee in the workplace needs to have an understanding of health and safety and what risks could be applied to their workplace. They need to attend training and ensure that they then follow the training. Finally, every employee needs to understand how to carry out their own work duties and activities safely, minimising any risk.

Every single person in a business plays a part in ensuring that the correct level of health and safety is met.

How to ensure that everyone in your workplace understands health and safety?

One of the simplest ways that you can ensure that your employees understand workplace health and safety is to ensure that they are properly trained.

Here at The Training Terminal we have developed our Level 2 Health and Safety Course. This course covers everything that you need to know and understand about health and safety in the workplace, ensuring that every member of staff understands their place and role in keeping everyone safe.