Health, Safety and Welfare at Work
Health and safety in the workplace is not only the responsibility of
the designated Health and Safety Officer, it is the duty of all
members of staff to be responsible for the safety of everyone they may
have to deal with during the working day; both their colleagues and
members of the public.
The Health and Safety Executive are a body whose role is to promote
safety in the workplace; both by providing information to employers
and their employees, and also by ensuring that rules and guidelines
are adhered to in everyday practice.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (or H&SE), the employer
has a responsibility under law to ensure, as far as is reasonably
practicable, the employee's health, safety and welfare at work. The
employer's duties include:
- Making the workplace safe and without risks to health
- Ensuring that plant and machinery are safe and that safe systems of
work are set and are followed
- Ensuring articles and substances are moved, stored and used safely
- Providing adequate welfare facilities
- Giving the information, instruction, training and supervision
necessary for health and safety
It is the duty of the employer to assess the risks to the health and
safety of his/her staff. This will often necessitate a vigorous and
thorough inspection of the workplace, paying particular attention to
any piece of equipment or plant and any working practice that may be
hazardous to the safety of staff. If there are 5 or more employees,
any findings of the risk assessment must be recorded.
Plant and machinery must be regularly inspected to ensure that it is...
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...struction-phase health and safety plan. This must be done before
any construction work begins.
- The client must be reasonably satisfied that all those who are
appointed are competent to carry out all their health and safety
responsibilities.
- The client must ensure that the health and safety file that was
compiled during the construction process is kept readily available for
inspection by anyone who may want to conduct any further construction
work on the site in the future.
The client may choose to appoint an agent to act on their behalf. In
these circumstances the client must ensure that any person appointed
in this capacity is fully competent and qualified to carry out their
health and safety responsibilities. The Health and Safety Executive
must be informed of any such appointment before work commences.
If someone was/is exposed to Asbestos, employer should monitor the employee for health issues (breathing issues, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, bleeding, etc.).
Workplace screening for predisposition to illness was championed during the 1930’s, as it became clear that some workers exposed to toxins on the job became ill while others did not. Such screening is an increasingly frequent though highly controversial practice in industry today. Screening prior to employment can help individuals avoid jobs that could be hazardous to their health. But testing workers for genetic susceptibility after they become ill could be a way for employers to avoid responsibility for workers’ safety and compensation claims, shifting the blame to “genetically predisposed” workers while ignoring workplace hazards.
As the seriousness of the harm increases, so does the need to take action to avoid it (Mallor, Barnes, Bowers, Langvardt, 2013). Quite simply, the facts that the employer has impacts what kind of and to what extent their corrective or preventative action they will take. If the employer knows, or has reason to know, that an employee poses a danger, the employer has the ethical and social responsibility to protect its employees. As an employer, or manager, your job is to be a leader and an employee’s safety and welfare have to be the most important factor. Richard Stevenson believes a reasonable person, or employer, of ordinary prudence would take corrective or preventative action if they knew that an employee posed a danger to others. If a reasonable person of ordinary prudence would take action, he believes an employer has an absolute ethical obligation to protect
In this assignment I am going to describe three different Health and Safety legislations that promote the safety of individuals within a health and social care setting.
should do in an even of an emergency, such as a fire, bomb scare etc.
Section 8 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act (2005) puts the onus on the employer to ensure systems of work that are planned, organised, performed, maintained and revised as appropriate so as to be, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe and without risk to health. Section 19 of the Act requires the employer to conduct a risk assessment of work activities and Schedule 3 of the Act provides the general principles of prevention to ensure the safety of employees in the workplace.
There are various reasons why risk assessments are put in place. Risk assessments can be used to assess the environments that we work in, the risks staff may be exposed to, the risks to the individual and the risks of the equipment that is in place. Once the risk assessment process has been completed it will help all concerned to thin about ant potential hazards there may be in the situation or activity and the ways risks to the individual others cane be minimized. Taking risks is part of being able to choose and be in control of your life. It is important that concerns about risks do not get in the way of people living their lives in the way they want to. We must ensure we make the individual aware of all risks for them to be able to make their
This Act of Parliament is the core part of UK health and safety law. It places a responsibility on all bosses and managers to make sure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and well-being at work of all their staff and workers.
We all have duties under the health and safety at work etc 1974 and we
If the health of employees can help or hinder a company, then why do companies still have sick days? With the “on the go” lifestyles, how can we not question the health of employees and their families. Today we have high stress jobs, rush hour traffic, and demanding schedules. Being healthy and fit is the way to conquer tomorrow.
Employers negligent in providing health and safety in the work environment could become criminally charged, fined or sent to jail. Providing an unsafe workplace is no longer considered just as morally unjust, but an act of crime. Health and safety in the workplace has become more encompassing and broader, accepting new causes and problems that influence occupational health and safety. Health is no longer just defined as wellness of the physical body, but also wellness of the mind. Mental health is considered an area of workplace safety.
In the early 1900s industrial accidents were commonplace in this country; for example, in 1907 over 3,200 people were killed in mining accidents. At this time legislation and public opinion all favored management. There were few protections for the worker's safety. Today's industrial employees are better off than their colleagues in the past. Their chances of being killed in an industrial accident are less than half of that of their predecessors of 60 years ago. According to National safety Council (NSC), the current death rate from work-related injuries is approximately 4 per 100,000, or less than a third of the rate of 50 years ago. Improvements in safety up to now have been the result of pressure for legislation to promote health and safety, the steadily increasing cost associated with accidents and injuries, and the professionalization of safety as an occupation. When the industrial sector began to grow in the United States, hazardous working conditions were commonplace. Following the Civil War, the seeds of the safety movement were sown in this country. Factory inspection was introduced in Massachusetts in 1867. In 1868 the first barrier safeguard was patented. In 1869 the Pennsylvania legislature passed a mine safety law requiring two exits from all mines. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was established in 1869 to study industrial accidents and report pertinent information about hose accidents. The following decade saw little progress in the safety movement until 1877, when the Massachusetts legislature passed a law requiring safeguards for hazardous machinery. In 1877 the Employers' Liability Law was passed. In 1892, the first safety program was established in a steel plant in Illinois, in response to the explosion of a flywheel in that company.
In a society where job security is important one has to question why not put employees where they need be, in the places where they will be most successful, where business can benefit from a happy and energetic employee. Does the quote by Mr. Buffet make since? Being a member of the Armed Forces one would think that retention is a challenge. In my personal opinion I think it depends on the job/department, with using the lingo of the military, it depends on the AFSC (Air Force Specialty Code) in which you are assigned. I will take it one step further and state that it may depend on the branch of service and whether are not you are Active Duty, Guard, or Reserves. For example, members that may have to report to duty one weekend and
The term ‘occupational health and safety’ (often abbreviated to OHS), is used describe work practices that will keep employees safe. The absence of OHS can be detrimental to a company and its workers alike, as there is a high risk of serious injury. Safety on many worksites must be the top priority for any corporation. Though at our walk-around of Juggernaut Industries, we noticed it wasn’t monitored at all. The following is a list of possible effects and laws that will remind you of the consequences.
Ensuring the health and safety of employees is of primary importance to the Organization. Organization is committed to maintaining safe facilities, sponsoring appropriate training programs, and providing necessary safety equipment. In addition, Administration and staff shall cooperatively develop appropriate procedures and regulations for ensuring employees' health and safety, with special emphasis on the handling of potentially hazardous equipment or substances and for investigating and reporting any accidents and mishaps. All newly employed staff shall be required to comply with the physical examination. Every employee must provide annually, at a minimum, an updated health history of current health problems.