Importance of health and safety at work
The importance of health and safety at work cannot be underestimated. The employer has a moral and legal obligation to ensure that its employees work in a safe and healthy environment.
Morally, no worker should be forced to work in an environment where their well-being is in danger. It also makes business sense to ensure that workers are safe and healthy during working hours. Sick or injured workers cause a drop in production and a consequent loss of profits.
Moral issues aside, there are strict laws and regulations governing health and safety at work, and if an employer violates these requirements, they could be prosecuted and have to pay large sums of compensation.
Good working practices effectively pay for themselves, as production remains uninterrupted, insurance costs are minimized, the workforce remains satisfied, and customers are delighted with a regular and prompt supply of fulfilled orders.
In the UK, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) is changing health and safety standards in the workplace. The HSE not only enforces these regulations, but will also prosecute employers when they violate them. While this is much needed, it puts enormous pressure on employers whose first concern, of course, is to run their businesses as efficiently as possible.
While the HSE produces a lot of information about the regulations, which are often updated, the typical busy employer or manager often has little time to read them, let alone fully understand them. This is why agencies have emerged that advise key employers, managers and employees on what the law requires and how to comply, keeping their facilities and work practices as safe as possible. These agencies also teach courses on various aspects of health and safety, many of which are certified.
One of these courses is the IOSH Working Safely Certificate. This course meets the HSE requirements as a safety certificate. Define and identify risks and hazards and look for ways to improve safety performance. The course also looks at safe work systems and considers personal responsibility for safety in the workplace, as well as the protection of personnel in the work environment.
The fact that such courses exist emphasizes the importance of occupational health and safety in the modern world.