Imagine you’re at work in a busy manufacturing facility. A piece of machinery begins to vibrate unusually, potentially creating a risk of injury or malfunction. Do you report it? Or ignore it and assume it’s someone else’s role?
Although this example is specific to a manufacturing setting, it is emblematic of the proactivity and shared responsibility mindset all businesses should have.
Responding to obvious hazards like water on the floor or improperly stored equipment is essential. However, proper hazard perception should go beyond the plain.
In this article, we’ll unpack employees’ responsibilities for health and safety, providing a clearer understanding of occupational safety and the role of employees in fostering a safety culture.
Who is Responsible for Health and Safety in the Workplace?
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) dictates that management of workplace health and safety is the employer’s responsibility, as far as is reasonably practicable.
However, while the company has a legal obligation to provide a healthy and safe working environment (per the Health and Safety Work Act 1974) (HASWA), all employees must maintain that safe environment.
A more accurate answer to the question of who is responsible for health and safety at work is that all workers, including managers, supervisors, and general operatives, are duty-bound to meet the employer’s expectations.
Now that we know occupational safety and health (OSH) is also the responsibility of employees, let’s explore those duties in more detail.
Specific Employee Duties for Health and Safety
Section 7 of HASWA outlines the duties of employees in maintaining a safe and healthy workplace.
The legislation stipulates that, while employees are at work, they must take reasonable care for their own and others’ health and safety, which the employee’s actions or omissions may compromise.
What are the key health and safety duties that employees should be aware of? Let’s take a look.
Familiarising yourself with company policies and procedures
Employers should provide employees with a copy of company policies and procedures during their first day. At this point, it is the responsibility of the worker to learn and understand the safety policies.
While all businesses are covered by the overarching statutes of HASWA, industry-specific best practices, checklists, and guidance further define employee duties to ensure safety is paramount in all sectors.
Additionally, the Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations 1989 require employers to either display the HSE-approved law poster or provide it in leaflet form to each employee.
This poster provides workers with a deeper understanding of key health and safety information, including the mandatory provision of free training and the importance of business-employee cooperation.
Following safety protocols and using equipment correctly
In 2021, 705 workers died, and in 2020, 196,140 were injured as a result of coming into contact with objects and equipment at work.
To defend against these damning stats, employers should ensure guidance and literature about operating safely is readily available. This knowledge can include:
- Safety signs and posters
- Warning devices
- Emergency safety plans
- Personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Hygiene tools
Items such as PPE and safety controls are commonplace in manufacturing and construction environments.
However, as we mentioned earlier, employees should familiarise themselves with the specific nuances of health and safety guidance in their given sector.
Attending health and safety training sessions
>There are many options for health and safety training courses that are essential for keeping your workforce informed about current legislation and procedural standards.
Actively pursuing employee training is a proactive step toward fostering a positive safety culture within your business. Additionally, it shows employees that the company is committed to their well-being.
Training can enhance more than just workplace culture; it has been shown that a commitment to employee education, whether focused on occupational safety and health (OSH) or other areas, significantly improves worker retention. In fact, companies that promote a strong learning culture experience retention rates that increase by 30-50%.
Reporting accidents, incidents, or near misses promptly
Earlier, we said that employees are duty-bound to meet the OSH expectations of the employer. One of the most significant steps to ensuring cooperation is reporting risks, hazards, near misses, or potential risks.
Effective recognition and reporting of hazards can:
- Reduce the number of workplace injuries, illnesses, and associated costs.
- Improve employee health, well-being, and work capacity.
- Encourage innovation and risk mitigation measures.
- Reduce the likelihood of repeat incidents occurring.
Legal obligations for reporting incidents
Timely incident reporting can enable the organisation to complete necessary investigations and implement corrective measures. Additionally, swift reporting can also allow companies to comply with the guidance of RIDDOR
RIDDOR stands for the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013. It refers to the law that requires employers to report and maintain a record of serious work-related accidents, diseases, and near misses.
Participating in regular inspections or risk assessments to identify hazards
While the primary responsibility for conducting regular inspections falls on the employer, the active involvement of employees can help prevent accidents and injuries.
Additionally, conducting regular risk assessments or safety audits can highlight potentially hazardous situations or areas for improvement.
Enrolling employees in courses like the HABC Level 2 Award in Risk Assessment can equip workers with the knowledge they need to mitigate workplace risks.
Taking this one-day course also enhances employee career development by placing internationally recognised accreditations on their CV.
One way to ensure the uptake of risk assessment training among your workforce is by incorporating it into your company’s health and safety KPIs. Making this commitment puts a stronger emphasis on this skill acquisition.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
A recent survey by CIPHR, which questioned 2,000 UK workers, found that 23% of employees reported that work generally made them feel stressed.
Employers are legally obliged to provide a working environment that is as stress-free as possible (again, as far as is reasonably practical). However, it’s essential to acknowledge that individuals are also responsible for their own well-being.
Coping with stress at work can be challenging. But there are steps you can take to help manage it –
- Learn how to recognise the signs of stress.
- Create an action plan that identifies what stresses you and helps you stay well.
- Try different coping techniques, such as mindfulness.
- Take care of your physical health to enhance your mental well-being.
- Build your support network – this could include friends, family, your HR department, or fellow team members.
Collaborating with Employers for a Safe Work Environment
Collaboration and open communication are imperative for creating a safe and healthy work environment for all.
From involving workers in hazard analysis processes to encouraging staff to discuss mental health, there are several avenues businesses can take to enhance safety standards through effective communication.
Health and Safety Communication in the Workplace
Effective communication creates successful collaboration between employees and employers. The same goes for creating a healthy and safe work environment.
In a recent HSE case study, Devonport Royal Dockyard’s team reduced their work-related accident count by 35% by embedding new safety measures.
One such measure was implementing a staff “Time Out for Safety” session every Monday.
During these sessions, workers were encouraged to bring any safety concerns to the team leader’s attention and discuss ideas for improving safety at work.
Providing feedback and suggestions on existing safety measures
Gaining employee feedback on existing safety measures is a vital cog in maintaining a collaborative workplace.
Employees carrying out daily duties are more familiar with hazards and potential risks. Therefore, encouraging them to report safety concerns to the relevant authorities is essential.
However, gaining employee insights doesn’t need to be a labour-intensive process. The acts outlined below give you the information you need in a clean and straightforward fashion:
- Safety committees or safety audits
- Regular inspections
- Health and Safety Survey Forms
Participating in safety committee meetings or discussions
As we saw from the Devonport case study earlier, implementing group discussions can have a lasting impact on your business’s safety culture.
Mike Tabb, Convenor and Health and Safety Representative, Amicus/Unite, said of those efforts by Devonport employees:
“This sounds long-winded, but it works. Staff are starting to believe that management is serious about [health and] safety.”
As Mike said, these meetings or regular collaborative events highlight to workers that their well-being is paramount.
Additionally, a recent study by IOSH found that organisations with a proactive approach to health and safety management like this tend to enjoy better profit margins.
Creating a Culture of Safety Among Employees
Fostering a safety culture among employees is the key to a secure and productive workplace. But it requires a more profound commitment from the business than simply everyone agreeing to follow the best practices.
Creating a strong safety culture in your business starts with the senior management team and trickles down to the employee level.
Of course, encouraging the reporting of risks and hazards plays a significant role in fostering this culture. But so too does management safety training.
Health and safety promotion through communication channels
As mentioned, employees are regularly the first to identify risks in their daily work environment.
Cultivating an atmosphere that encourages workers to voice these concerns is crucial for maintaining your overall safety standards.
Setting regular safety meetings, as the team did at Devonport, will allow you to:
- Evaluate the level of awareness among employees regarding the latest safety guidelines.
- Keep the management team informed about new risks.
- Make employees advocates for workplace safety.
- Allow for thorough risk investigations and effective root cause analysis.
- Flag potential risks to employee mental well-being.
- Highlight potential training opportunities.
You should also consider circulating insight-laden newsletters that highlight the importance of work health and safety.
Furthermore, eye-catching posters (like the HSE one) can be attached to bulletin boards for communicating important or evergreen information.
Encourage employees to share safety tips and practices
By empowering employees with the ability to share any OSH tips, you help further establish the atmosphere of ownership.
Encouraging a thought-sharing culture simultaneously engenders a sense of belonging while strengthening the ‘team’ ethic.
In turn, this healthy environment fosters a sense of accountability around target acquisition. That attitude then stretches from work to well-being goals and helps maintain a safe environment.
Additionally, when you foster this culture, you also have the opportunity to maximise any employee training initiatives. Knowledge-sharing employees can disseminate course-fed experiences to the business.
This means you could send one worker on a course, assuming that, when they return, they will effectively leverage their new knowledge to educate the wider team.
Reward employees who practise exemplary adherence to policies
Another powerful motivator for creating a safe workplace is acknowledging and rewarding adherence.
Privileges can be as simple as verbal recognition or more goal-oriented, such as structured company awards to recognise top performers.
Alternatively, you could think about leveraging gamification in your OSH training. Gamification is an incredibly successful educational tool as it speaks to three fundamental learning behaviours:
- People learn better by doing.
- If people enjoy what they do, they are more likely to continue doing it.
- Most people thrive on competition.
Utilising tools like online quizzes, made available in applications like Kahoot or Quizlet, has been proven to enhance information retention. Similarly, role-play scenarios or simulations can be perfect for retaining key learnings.
You could then think about incentivising the uptake of health and safety courses.
Continued Learning for Better Health and Safety Practices
The health and safety sector continues to flex and adapt to new requirements. Fortunately, this means opportunities for continuous learning are abundant.
Whether through course completion, qualification achievement, or simply staying across industry updates, engaging in lifelong learning can take many forms.
Strengthening the professional development of health and safety topics
Continuing professional development in health and safety is necessary in the ever-evolving landscape of workplace safety.
As a side note to personal development, obtaining OSH accreditations can significantly enhance career prospects.
For example, a study found that roles requiring applicants to have a NEBOSH qualification offered a 16% higher salary (on average) than similar roles without the requirement.
Keeping up-to-date with industry standards and regulatory requirements
As an employer, you are legally obliged to stay as up-to-date with OSH policies as possible. Failure to keep up with legislation can result in severe financial penalties or even imprisonment.
To put it another way, the average fine for businesses found to be non-compliant with HSE regulations rose 35% to £145,000 in 2020/21.
However, staying up-to-date on HSE rules can be as simple as attending annual workshops and training sessions. Plus, you can stay on top of the latest industry and regulatory guidelines by:
- Utilising online resources.
- Engaging in knowledge-sharing within industry networks.
- Subscribing to regulatory updates.
- Conducting internal audits.
- Seeking legal advice (when needed).
Embracing new technologies for improved health and safety practices
Cutting-edge technologies and tools can help shape your knowledge to be as keen as possible.
For example, new technologies like augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) are already being utilised to provide learners with a better understanding of risk perception.
Conclusion
Employers will continue to be the party extrinsically responsible for overall workplace safety standards.
However, as we have demonstrated throughout this piece, there are clear benefits to ensuring that staff throughout the business understand their responsibilities as well.
From broad benefits like culture cultivation to more personal bonuses like accreditations. It pays to improve your health and safety knowledge with TSW’s range of courses and qualifications.
