Looking after members of staff and their health and wellbeing should be a top priority for all employers, and particularly for companies in riskier industries where serious injuries can occur. Employee safety at work is paramount and this is supported by government legislation, the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act is there to regulate and enforce workplace health, safety and welfare in the United Kingdom.

We have come up with a guide to ways that employers can prevent employee accidents at work.

Make Every Employee Aware That Adhering to Health and Safety Policies is Non-Negotiable

Employers should make education on health and safety in the workplace a core part of the training and onboarding that all new members of staff to the business have to go through. This may involve carrying out practical safety tasks, and passing tests on questions about different health and safety scenarios, including potentially hazardous situations and work where you could suffer an injury.

It should be clear to employees in their contract that sticking to health and safety is a non-negotiable part of working with the company. Any staff member who fails to follow health and safety guidelines, disregards the rules, and puts themselves or other staff members in danger will be disciplined or maybe even dismissed and told to leave.

Reduce the Hazards and Risks Which Could Cause Injury to Employees

As an employer, your knowledge of the potential risks and hazards at work which could potentially cause injury to employees has to be A+ and outstanding. Employers in 2021 should have a team of people that are dedicated to reducing hazards in the workplace and looking after the safety of employees.

Something like managing an office may seem quite low risk and innocuous, but it only takes one member of staff to slip on a wet floor in the office which hasn’t been dried by the cleaning service for a company to lose a lot of money in having to cover an insurance pay out due to the employer’s liability for the accident. Interested in finding a reliable business insurance company? Have a look at the quality insurance service Insurance Services Surrey offers.

Give Your Employees Breaks So They are Well Rested

Employees are more likely to have accidents or be injured when they are fatigued due to working too much. Being tired and a lack of breaks makes anybody at work more prone to making errors, losing concentration, and having serious accidents. So, make sure your employees get a full hour-long lunch break and some time to recharge their batteries. Getting enough sleep is particularly important in an industry such as truck driving, whereby tired drivers in control of HGVs can potentially cause serious injuries to themselves and others on the road.

Learn from the Past

If an employer has a history of staff having similar accidents in the workplace, they should seriously reassess their health and safety measures as a company.

Not only are accidents at work financially a problem for businesses who have to fund compensation pay outs, an employer’s reputation can be ruined if they are seen as not adequately looking after their workforce. Businesses can even be shut down if they are continually not seen as doing enough and putting the right measures to protect their staff at work. Employers must learn from the past and protect employees as well as they possibly can.