Heard the one about the Boss who called in one of his supervisors and said:
“You have been complaining that we don’t do enough when it comes to safety. What would you like to see us do?”
“Sir,” he said “I think we should have two paid days of safety training every month, brand new ergonomic office furniture, and a fully stocked organic dining room with a health and fitness coach at our disposal.”
Without blinking an eye the boss said “What would you say if I gave you everything you just asked for and threw in a 20 thousand pound bonus for coming up with the idea?”
“Are you joking?” said the supervisor.
“Of course,” said his boss, “Aren’t you?”
Certainly over the past few years Health and Safety has been the butt of many jokes and admittedly in some areas it is somewhat OTT but that said if something happened to you because your work place had not been diligent you would be the first to complain.
The Labour Force Survey showed that 2014/15 611,000 injuries occurred in the work place and that £14.3 billion was the estimated cost of injuries and ill health from current working conditions. If you are found guilty in a magistrate’s court of a health and safety offence you may face fines of up to £20,000 and/or up to 12 months imprisonment. Conviction in a Crown Court can result in an unlimited fine and/or a period of imprisonment of up to two years.
So clearly Health and Safety is not a joke.
For 15 years Safe and Sound has worked with both large and small firms providing first aid and health and safety training and we have seen clients who take health and safety very seriously and perhaps the smaller companies who feel they don’t have the time or money to provide all the necessary training.
And now there is the added concerns of terrorism. I, like many others, believe it is not a case of ‘if’ there is a major terrorist attack in London but more ‘when.’ How well equipped are your staff to cope in an emergency? Knowing what to do could stop a minor incident becoming a major one.
Here are a few steps to you might like to look at which will help you minimise workplace risks and be better prepared to respond to first aid emergencies.
- Have you conducted a first aid assessment of your business?
- Do you have enough to cover unplanned staff absences?
- Do you have first aid equipment in your workplace? Do you have a defibrillator? Is it easy to find and access?
- Does your workplace run first aid drills and procedures? Always good to keep this fresh in the minds of employees.
- Have you evaluated your business activities to identify areas of increased risk?
Call us on 0208 445 8998 if you would like any help with assessing your first aid and health and safety needs.
