How to protect your employees in the workplace

The safety of employees is something every business should prioritize. Accidents in the workplace are a common occurrence and impact on the lives of thousands of employees every year. Everyone should feel safe in their job, but unfortunately, this is not always the case. For employees, an accident in the workplace can have a significant impact on their entire life and, in some situations, can cause them to have a reduced quality of life and harm their potential employment prospects and earnings. For businesses, accidents are also bad news and have a negative effect on their reputation and a high financial cost if compensation needs to be paid out. Maintaining a safe working environment is beneficial for everyone and something every employer needs to work hard at to get right. Here are some factors to consider when you are trying to make your business a safer place:

Make Training a Priority

Training your staff members is one of the most effective ways to keep them safe. In many companies, employees receive some health and safety training as part of their new employee induction. But, putting together comprehensive training sessions and hosting safety training regularly will ensure every team member is equipped with the knowledge needed to keep them safe at work. Receiving regular training will enable staff to stay up to date with the latest health and safety information and to have a clear awareness of how to work in a way that keeps themselves and their colleagues safe. 

As well as hosting regular training sessions, it is also vital to ensure your team receives full training before starting to use new pieces of equipment.

Invest in Protective Equipment

Having the right protective equipment and ensuring it is used correctly is vital to the health and safety of every person in your workplace. To ensure that your team can work safely, they need personal protective equipment that is designed for the tasks they complete and fits them correctly. It is essential to ensure that there is enough protective equipment for every employee to use and that it is in a good state of repair so that it works effectively.

Carrying out regular checks on employees’ protective equipment is an excellent way to ensure that everyone is using it correctly and has everything they need to keep themselves safe while working.

Write Policies and Procedures

When everyone understands how to work according to best practices, it is so much easier to keep your team safe. Creating standardized methods of working which follow a specific workflow and turning these into policies and procedures will ensure your employees are always aware of the best way to work and know-how to work in a safe manner. 

Maintain Your Machinery

A machinery fault could not only cause your business to experience expensive downtime, but it is also a health and safety risk. Keeping your machines well-maintained and reporting any suspected faults will help to avoid potential accidents and keep every employee safe in the workplace.

Image by Yerson Retamal