Good health and safety standards always start with the people at the top. Directors and board members have collective and individual responsibility for health and safety, no matter how big or small your business is. Their role in ensuring health and safety is vital for good governance.
Health and safety laws place responsibility for health and safety on the people in charge of the workplace and, on top of that, they have a duty of care to employees. By maintaining high standards of health and safety you see several benefits.
With high standards of health and safety, you protect the workplace and business from any bad publicity or employee unrest that would follow a serious accident or prosecution.
Why is managing health and safety important?
Research shows that managing health and safety at work effectively is good business practice. You could enjoy the financial benefits of:
- Increased productivity when following safe operating procedures
- Reduced insurance premiums
- Fewer absences for sickness
- Better employee retention and morale
- Reduced costs of training replacement employees.
Who is responsible for managing work health and safety?
According to Safe Work Australia, duty holders who have a role in managing work health and safety include:
- persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs)
- designers, manufacturers, importers, suppliers and installers of plant, substances or structures, and
- officers
Managing health and safety
Managing health and safety at work involves risk management and a consistent approach to health and safety. You also need the involvement and cooperation of your workers, partners, and other businesses you work with.
Key things to remember are:
- get involved in health and safety issues so that you understand hazards and risks associated with your operations
- consult your employees and other duty holders on the hazards and risks
- invest time and money in health and safety
- ensure that all employees are aware of their health and safety responsibilites and have the knowledge and training to do tasks safely
- practice what you preach
Risk management
An effective risk management process has four steps and they need to be followed carefully.
- Identify hazards- find out what can cause harm or risk to your workplace
- Assess risks- Understand what the nature of harm could be, how serious is it, and the likelihood of it happening
- Control risks- Introduce effective control measures that is reasonably practicable
- Review hazards and control measures regularly to ensure they are working as planned
When to use a risk management approach?
While you should have regular and ongoing risk management systems and policies, there are few times in particular that may need additional risk management.
Examples of when you should review and implement your risk management include:
- starting a new business
- expanding or purchasing an existing business
- changing work practices, procedures or the work environment
- changing organisational structure or job roles
- introducing new workers or returning workers to the workplace
- purchasing new or used equipment or using new substances
- working with a new supplier for your services
- planning to improve productivity or reduce costs
- new information about workplace risks becomes available
- responding to workplace incidents (even if they have caused no injury)
- responding to concerns raised by workers, health and safety representatives or others at the workplace
- required by the WHS regulation for specific hazards
Want WHS support?
Are you using free online health and safety policies and templates to save costs? Standardised online policies and templates do not take into account the unique needs of your industry and business. Peninsula offers customised WHS documents and policies at optimum prices for business owners and employers. Call us on 1300856135 to find out how we can help you.
This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute as business or legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. It does not take into consideration your specific business, industry or circumstances. You should seek legal or other professional advice regarding matters as they relate to you or your business. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Peninsula Group disclaim all liability for any errors or omissions contained in this information or any failure to update or correct this information. It is your responsibility to assess and verify the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of the information in this article.