Workplace Health & Safety Training 101

Did you know that over 300 million work-related accidents occur each year? Over 6,000 people die every day due to work-related diseases or accidents.

Our workplaces and working lives are evolving dramatically. The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated this hugely. Now commonplace factors such as home working, PPE requirements and employee welfare all need to be considered and managed safely.

How safe is your workplace? Have you ticked all the boxes to ensure your business is low risk and legally compliant? Is your team skilled in health & safety management?

Here, we explore why you should be prioritising health & safety training and how it can benefit you, your team, and your business.

Why is health & safety training important?

1.    Health & Safety is a legal requirement

Any business that employs five or more people needs to comply with health & safety legislation. There are hefty fines if you don’t. As a business owner, manager or employer, it’s your legal duty to protect your staff. No matter the size of your business, it’s best practice to have a policy in place.

As part of this legal requirement, you must prepare a written health & safety policy. Your business intentions, procedures and areas of responsibility for health & safety need to be made clear. Basically, you need a clear plan of action.

2.    Businesses need a competent Health & Safety person

Who in your team owns this important area? Maybe there are several people responsible for aspects of health & safety. But that person (or persons) needs to know their stuff. They need to know the legalities, how to assess risks and how to manage your workplace safety. It’s important that this is implemented daily.

You don’t need to be the person who manages this area, but you do need to ensure that somebody on your team is overseeing it. And they need to have the knowledge and awareness required to keep your people and workplace safe.

3.    It prioritises staff welfare

It’s not just a legal issue. Business owners and managers have a moral obligation to look after their staff. Nobody wants accidents in their workplace or for their team to suffer work-related injuries or illness.

An added bonus is that creating a safe environment, that is fit for purpose, will make your team’s working lives that bit easier and happier.

What are the business benefits of having qualified Health & Safety personnel?

By training as little as one person in vital health & safety skills, you’ll provide benefits to many in the workplace. That ratio makes business sense.

Having a qualified health & safety representative will result in significant cost efficiencies for your business. You can reduce risks, decrease staff absences, improve productivity and more. Training will equip your staff with:

• Better understanding of HSE legislation
• Recognised qualifications in this important area
• Ability to create a safer workplace
• Awareness of potential risks and hazards
• Reduced accidents and, in turn, reduced costs
• Happier, more productive workforce

Our Health & Safety training provision

We offer a range of health & safety qualifications and training. We can provide new team members with the foundations they need to identify hazards and reduce risks in the workplace. For those with existing knowledge, we can upskill in further health & safety qualifications, including our international certification.

It’s relatively quick to gain a recognised qualification. We offer health & safety courses online which cause minimal disruption to your workflow and business productivity.

Our tutors are experienced and deliver engaging training sessions. We guarantee a quality experience that will deliver the results you need for your people.

We’re with you as your business evolves. We can keep your team members on top of health & safety legislation and certification. We offer ongoing support to upskill key team members in the latest knowledge and developments when needed.

Which course is right for your business?

What does your business need right now? A national or international qualification? IOSH? NEBOSH? Or something bespoke? Group training, virtual classrooms – we can accommodate any, or all, of these.

We pride ourselves in offering flexible provisions and we’re happy to create something that delivers what your business needs when you need it. That could be a bespoke training course to cater for your very particular requirements. Exclusive to your group of staff, a bespoke course can focus on specific issues that your business faces and the group will work through them in confidence.

Contact one of our friendly advisors who’ll help you decipher the right training provision to meet your needs.

References:

• https://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/law/index.htm
• https://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/
• https://www.ilo.org/safework/events/safeday/lang--en/index.htm