Safety will always be a top concern when you run a business. No matter what kind of business it is and how many employees you have, if there is at least one person in the company you need to care for, then you need to make sure that you have a strong focus on safety at all times. In this post, we will look at some of the main things you can do to keep staff as safe as possible at all times.
Provide PPE
There are many jobs and situations where the proper PPE, clothing, and equipment are needed. It is your duty as an employer to ensure that you provide these where necessary and that they are looked after and available where appropriate. That can include blue nitrile gloves in medical settings, high-visibility clothing on construction sites, etc. Proper PPE keeps your business legal while ensuring people are less likely to get hurt.
Carry Out Risk Assessments
Another major duty you have as an employer is to carry out risk assessments. You need to do this for every major task that takes place in your business, and you need to review it from time to time as well. Essentially you are identifying what the risks are of any particular job and then thinking of ways to reduce those risks. For example, if you run a shop selling high-value products, assault and theft are real risks. To manage this, you can install security windows, CCTV and panic buttons, helping to keep your staff safe. This is effectively what you are doing, but you have a legal responsibility to do so, so make sure that you are doing it and that you are doing it well. It can reduce injury and illness if you do it right.
Train Your People
Good training is another vital cornerstone of keeping your staff safe. If they are trained well to do their jobs, then that means they will do them more effectively and safely. It’s incredible how well this works, and you should ensure that you are always keeping up with your training. You should track the training you provide to your people and ensure they are actively partaking in it. This is vital for ensuring eveeveryone'sfety, so be careful not to overlook it. Again, it is also an important legal matter.
Keep The Workplace Clean
Finally, it would be best to ensure the workplace is clean and clear of clutter. This reduces the likelihood of the number one kind of injury in workplaces worldwide, which is slips, trips, and falls. Everyone has a responsibility for this, though as the manager or employer, you have a particular duty to do this right. All in all, you need to ensure that you keep items out of the workplace as best as possible.
