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Health and safety – getting it right for small businesses

For anyone advising small businesses on health and safety, here’s a reminder of what you need to consider.

Headlines

• More than 200 people are killed at work every year in the UK
• All businesses, large or small, are legally responsible for protecting their workers
• Good absence management can save money and boost performance for small businesses.

Small business doesn't mean small risk

Every year, more than 200 people are killed at work in Great Britain. Around 300,000 more people are injured at work, while approximately two million people suffer from illnesses they put down to work. Sickness absence costs UK businesses more than £12 billion per year. It could happen to anyone – but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t have been prevented.

Health and safety is a legal responsibility for all businesses, large or small. But for many small businesses, it’s neither practical nor possible to employ a dedicated health and safety practitioner – so it’s more important than ever for small business managers to know about risks and how to manage them. That’s why many small businesses turn to consultants to help them develop a health and safety policy.

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 every company must make sure its business doesn’t harm staff, customers, contractors or anyone else. If you’re advising small businesses on health and safety – or if you’re a small business manager – here’s a reminder of the key points to consider.

Risky business

All businesses must carry out a risk assessment. You need to identify hazards and the people they might harm, then evaluate the risk of that happening and take measures to prevent it. If you’ve got five or more employees you must keep a written record of your findings, and it’s good practice to do this even if you employ fewer than five people. You should also review your assessment regularly and revise it where necessary.

The HSE provides a five-step guide to risk assessment:

1. look for the hazards – the things that could cause harm
2. decide who might be harmed and how
3. evaluate the risks – are your existing precautions enough, or should more be done?
4. keep a written record of your findings
5. regularly review your assessment and revise it if necessary.

Whatever measures you put in place, it’s crucial that you make sure they’re working. You also need to assess the risks that might arise from any changes in the working environment – such as new equipment – and reflect these in your health and safety policy.

When it comes to risk assessment, your employees are a valuable source of information. Talk to your employees about their experience, train them and involve them in your risk assessments and health and safety policy. Then check back with them to make sure they understand what they’ve learnt.

IOSH delivers a range of health and safety training courses for managers and employees of small and medium-sized businesses.

The IOSH Risk Assessment Routefinder helps you to work out what you need to do.

First aid

Despite all your planning, someone could be injured or fall ill at work. Under the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 you’re legally obliged to make sure immediate first aid is available. This means you must provide:

• a suitably stocked first aid kit
• designated staff to deal with first aid arrangements
• information for employees about first aid arrangements.

The HSE provides guidance on first aid regulations for small and medium-sized businesses.

In sickness and in health

A flexible approach to sickness absence can help keep your small business healthy by reducing sick pay costs, boosting performance and helping you retain valued staff.

Early intervention is essential to a good absence management strategy. You need to keep a record of sickness absence, and it’s good practice to stay in touch with absent employees. If they want to return to work but an injury prevents them doing certain tasks – such as lifting – you can agree a return to work plan that gives them different duties while they recover. It’s also important to seek professional advice and treatment advice so you know you’re both handling the rehabilitation process properly.

The IOSH Occupational Health Toolkit can help you tackle illness and absence, and IOSH’s good practice guide A healthy return offers technical guidance on rehabilitating people who return to work.

The HSE provides a checklist for sickness absence management:

• record sickness absence
• keep in contact with absent employees
• plan and undertake workplace adjustments
• use professional or other advice and treatment advice
• agree and review a return to work plan
• coordinate the return to work process.

You might let a member of staff work shorter hours while they recover, for example, or give them lighter duties. Somebody with an injured shoulder might not be able to do manual lifting work, but that doesn’t mean they can’t do other tasks while they recover.

Show and tell

Communication is key to good health and safety. If you employ anyone it’s a legal obligation and you will need to make sure you have covered the following:

• you may need to register your business
• you must have employers’ liability insurance
• you need to display the HSE health and safety at work poster
• you must report injuries and other incidents that happen at work.

You can find out more about how health and safety law affects your small business from the HSE.

For small and medium-sized businesses, having a good health and safety policy isn’t just good practice; it can also help save money and provide a stable platform to drive your business forward.