Health and safety issues cover far more of your business than just you and your employees. Business owners are responsible for the health and safety of anyone who visits their premises or comes into contact with their products or services.
Here are some things you should do to ensure your company complies with its legal obligations.
Ensure your premises are safe
Whether you work from home or from premises, you need to ensure that your workplace is safe for you, your employees and the general public.
- Carry out a risk assessment. This means examining your workplace, identifying what could cause people harm and taking steps to rectify it.
- Look out for physical features of your premises which may pose a risk to the health and safety of you and others. If you work at home, make sure dangerous equipment is kept away from children.
- Carry out subsequent risk assessments whenever your business circumstances change (such as moving premises or taking on a member of staff).
- Consider fire risks, providing adequate escape routes for anyone who uses the building.
Keep your business healthy
Protecting your own health and that of anyone working for you is vital. The business could seriously suffer if you, or a staff member, were unable to work for any period. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has various regulations for different types of business:
- Anyone using a computer all day should be aware of the relevant regulations and how to protect themselves.
- If you, or your staff, work at height – for example, cleaning windows or on a building site – you need to follow the Work at Height Regulations.
- People working with potentially harmful substances or dangerous machinery should be aware of the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations. Anyone who works for you should also be provided with appropriate equipment.
By law, there are steps that all businesses are required to take:
- Register with the HSE or your local authority (depending on the type of business you run).
- Notify the HSE or your local authority of any serious work-related accidents or diseases (regardless of whether you are an employer or self-employed).
- Provide the following facilities for anyone who works for you:
- clean, working toilets
- drinking water
- adequate lighting and ventilation
- a reasonable temperature throughout the premises; and
- enough space to work in.
- Supply adequate first-aid provisions (even if you work alone)
- Businesses with more than five employees must also have a written health and safety policy and are required to bring it to the attention of anyone who works for them.
Get the right insurance
It is vital to ensure that your business has the right insurance in place to cover you, your operations and any employees.
- Any business employing people except family members is required to have employers' liability insurance. This covers against claims of accident or sickness as a result of working for you.
- Consider public liability cover, which protects your business against claims by the public.
- Think about product liability insurance, which covers against claims of damage caused by products you make, sell or repair.
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