Health and Safety

It is a statutory requirement for an employer to manage the health and safety risks in the workplace. To do this, an employer needs to think about what might cause harm to people and decide whether the employer is doing enough to prevent that harm. This is known as a risk assessment. Once the risks have been identified, the employer needs to decide how to control them and put the appropriate measures in place.

In addition to its employees, an employer needs to consider people who might not be in the workplace all the time, such as visitors, contractors, maintenance workers and people working from home. If members of the public could be hurt by the work activities, an employer also needs to take them into account.

By law, an employer needs to have proper insurance in place to protect against claims arising out of injury or illness caused. Employers’ Liability Insurance will enable an employer to meet the cost of compensation for the employees’ injuries or illnesses whether they are caused on or off site.

Few workplaces stay the same and sooner or later an employer will bring in new equipment or procedures that could lead to new hazards. An employer should therefore review the risk assessment on a regular basis and if anything significant changes, update and amend it.

We are always happy to discuss individual requirements and always aim to offer cost effective advice on the legal issues but also on the practical and commercial issues which arise, with a view to ensuring you have adequate steps in place to cover your liability for health and safety as swiftly and painlessly as possible.

Please contact us for further information.