Health & Safety Essentials: Small Business Startups

Regardless of your company size, whether it be a multinational or a self-employed start-up company, the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 applies. Its provision is to ensure, that people can work within an environment that is safe, healthy and welfare aware (SHW). In order to do this, the law sets out a blueprint to assign duties, responsibilities and accountability right across the organisation. For instance, the duty to apply SHW to EMPLOYER • All working activities      • Place of work               • Information, training, supervision • Welfare facilities              • Risk to any entrant     • Emergency plans•   EMPLOYEE • Complying with law   • Intoxication               • Cooperating with employer • Improper conduct      • Reporting hazards    • Using items correctly Managing health and safety within a company is critical, as it helps determine the risks associated to the tasks which are being carried out. For small businesses, it is essential that the risk level be identified as low, medium or high. Low risk environments can be assessed by managers without qualification, provided they have a general awareness. These risks should be recorded and monitored by means of a safety statement. Additionally, this document should assign responsibility for controlling any risk identified. Finally, having an open line of communication with employees is essential, as their feedback can be extremely valuable. Risk Assessing Don’t over complicate the process of risk assessing. Keep it simple by looking at your work place and work activities. What can you see could potentially cause harm? Follow an approach which you understand.

• Identify the hazard: What could cause you harm (e.g. manual handling, vehicles, machinery, chemicals).
• Determine the risk level: What is the likelihood of getting injured and how severe could the injury be.
• Control measures: What can you put in place to minimise injury (e.g. a pushing trolley for heavy goods, traffic management, machinery maintenance, fume cupboards).

Documents The safety statement comes across as a daunting document, however, the simpler you make it the more user friendly it can be. Its function is to outline how you will manage health & safety in your workplace. This can be done by stating your intent to uphold your health & safety obligations, outlined within the overview*, by stating who is responsible for health & safety (divide this up if possible but ensure the work is being completed), then have arrangements in place for how tasks should be completed. Then review annually or where necessary. Benefit Having a solid safety culture within a small business can have significant benefits, which may grow the company. It will help save money, by reducing the likelihood of any accidents occurring within the workplace. It can improve workforce morale and motivation, which increases productivity. It may also help reduce absenteeism and increase the potential of earnings. Declan Ryan is a Technical H&S Advisor working with Peninsula Business Services (Ireland) Ltd; who are Ireland’s leading provider of employment law and health & safety services. Established in Ireland since 1997, we have thousands of businesses who have already integrated Peninsula to work as part of their HR and Health & Safety departments. With offices in Dublin, Belfast, Sydney and Manchester, Peninsula employs 1000 people across Ireland, Australia and the UK.