Worker involvement
The facts
- Worker involvement in health and safety is a two-way process
where employers and employees can work together on spotting,
solving and owning health and safety problems.
- By law, employers have a duty to consult their employees so
that they can manage health and safety through a co-operative
approach.
- The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is keen to encourage and
support greater worker involvement in health and safety in all
organisations and provide web pages and guidance on
this topic.
- Research has
shown that worker representation and consultation have a
significant role to play in improving health and safety at
work.
Our position
Employers need to work with employees and employee
representatives to address occupational safety and health
issues.
In addition to strong health and safety leadership and access to
competent advice, we see worker involvement as an essential part of
effective health and safety management.
Workers should be encouraged to become involved in health and
safety in their workplaces and should be made aware of the
opportunities of becoming representatives. Managers should
understand how best to engage their workers and the benefits of
doing so. Health and safety representatives should be adequately
trained and supported in their roles.
We believe that 'representatives of employee safety' should have
the same rights as union-appointed 'health and safety
representatives'. Positive health and safety cultures are ones in
which there is trust and workers are encouraged to raise any issues
they may have. We were concerned at
reports of 'blacklisting' of construction workers who had
raised health and safety concerns and/or were union members by some
companies and we support the outlawing of this practice.
Relevant IOSH consultation responses: