Every business needs to focus on the health and safety of employees to grow and succeed.
The business workforce is the fuel that keeps the company running for the long term while maintaining the sustainability of the business.
Thus it is important to prioritize the health and safety of employees.
It is not right to think that small businesses don’t need to focus on their business’s health and safety aspect, and it only matters for huge companies.
In fact, when a business starts working on health and safety legislation when starting or small, it becomes easier for them to process as there will be less complexity and easy procedures.
Once a business has grown, it becomes more complicated and time-consuming to carry out all the procedures.
Following all the legislation announced by HSE supports businesses in dealing with dangerous tasks carried out by workers daily and keeps the health and safety measures in place while maintaining the organization’s reputation.
In this blog, we have discussed the benefits of hiring a health and safety consultant and other questions that a business may have regarding health and safety regulations.
So let’s quickly jump over to the topic.
There are various advantages of having a health and safety consultant for your business and here is the list of some of the most prominent one –
- Reliable Overview And Advice –
One of the most prominent benefits of hiring a health and safety consultant for your business would be that they will provide an outside view of how a business’s health and safety situation fares, and therefore a company will have an honest overview of where it is excelling and what are the risk points.
Once a business gets to know the overview, they can decide whether to go ahead with the proposal or not.
- Enriched Experience –
A Health and Safety Consultant works for a variety of different businesses ranging from different industries.
Thus they will have valuable knowledge and a vast amount of skills to offer your business.
The significant knowledge and skill set of a Health and Safety consultant will enable them to meet your business and industry’s health and safety specifications.
- Unbiased Judgement –
When a business hires a health and safety consultant, they will have an unbiased judgment.
The consultant will work for your business with a clean slate and won’t be affected by internal affairs or past safety records.
- Latest Knowledge Of Practice –
Lastly but not least in any way is the latest knowledge of the practice standards.
As consultants are usually self-employed, they attend seminars, webinars, meet with industry agencies and keep up to date with modifications to safety protocol or training.
All of these things significantly support the businesses for whom consultants are working.
Other than these major benefits of hiring a health and safety consultant, here are some questions that most of the businesses have in their mind regarding Health and Safety –
We have tried to answer it briefly so that you can grasp it quickly and get the maximum value out of it.
Does A Small Company Need A Health And Safety Policy?
If a company is having fewer than five people, it doesn’t have to write down its safety arrangements or have a policy.
However, an organization with more than five employees must have a written copy of their arrangements and risk assessments.
How A Business With Fewer Than 5 Employees Can Show That All The Health And Safety Measurement Is In Place
If a company has fewer than five employees can show that they have considered safety by drafting a short safety strategy for their company including the information on –
→ Responsibility of key people
→ Emergency arrangements like easy access to first aid equipment
→ Providing training in relevant H&S matters
→ Specific and potential risks within the company
What The Health And Safety Policy Should Consist Of –
A Health and Safety policy should consist of the following things –
→ A clear and detailed statement of intent that can be formally published on the company’s website and displayed on notice boards signed by the MD lays out the ultimate aims and objectives of the company to manage risks
→ Organization and Responsibilities of individuals who must be specified and inclusive of an organizational management plan
→ The companies’ strategies for managing risk. One paragraph-long description of each topic is required.
Moreover, operating procedures or more significant policy documents can come later if additional information is required.
Why Is A Consultant Better Than A Full-Time Health And Safety Officer?
For small and mid-sized businesses, it becomes costlier to hire full-time employees for health and safety roles.
Thus, the best option is to look for safety consultants who are experts to effectively carry out the work in a cost-effective manner.
Even for huge businesses, having a full-time employee for a safety role may not work because of their biased view developed by the company’s internal affairs.
Moreover, being familiar with the physical environment; they may not be able to immediately identify the potential risks.
If you are a business owner and want us to support you with your business’s health and safety, kindly mail us on – info@orbisenvironmental.com or call us – 07402093183 and we would be more than happy to help you out! 🙂
