Safety at Work
3 Things Your Employer Should Do To Keep You Safe At Work
Safety concerns at work are normal, yet they really shouldn’t be. Unfortunately, too many business owners and employers will cut corners when it comes to employee safety. When you understand the possible ramifications of employee injuries at work, it really makes you wonder why on earth companies aren’t taking this as seriously as they should!
If you feel unsafe at work, or you just want to know that your employers are looking after you, here are three things to look for that they absolutely should be doing:
Making the workplace feel safe
First and foremost, they should be going out of their way to make the workplace look and feel safe. This means identifying hazards and putting solutions in place to stop them from being so hazardous. For instance, if there are harmful chemicals for cleaning, they should be kept in a secure location that’s out of harm’s way. If there are trip hazards or places where you might hurt yourself, there should be clear signage warning you of this. They shouldn’t have live wires hanging out of the walls – and so on. Ideally, your employer should provide a written list of every safety concern and what they’re doing to handle them.
Maintaining equipment
Secondly, your employer should be maintaining all the equipment and machinery in the workplace. From printers to full-scale manufacturing machines and forklift trucks; your employer needs to make sure they’re constantly serviced and maintained. This ensures that everything in your business works correctly and is safe for you, the employee, to use. Even something simple – like a faulty coffee machine in the office – could cause serious burns that leave you injured. You should know your injury at work rights, as a situation like this isn’t your fault and you can claim compensation against your employer for your troubles.
Training all employees
Lastly, good employers will train their employees to be safe at work. The most obvious example of this is training you how to use equipment in the workplace. Or, training you to lift things correctly. You might have to lift a box from the office floor, and if you’ve not been trained in manual handling, you can easily pull your back muscles and end up with a permanent injury. It is your employer’s duty to provide adequate health & safety training to everyone. If you’ve recently moved to a new job, you need to ensure that you are given this training, regardless of if the employer already trained their existing team.
When an employer does these three things, it makes employees feel so much safer. You genuinely get a sense that your bosses are doing everything they can to make your workplace as safe as can be. They’re looking for possible hazards, coming up with solutions, and ensuring your equipment is maintained. At the same time, they’re training everyone to make sure you know how to stay safe when doing certain things at work.
So, if your current employer isn’t doing any of this, there’s a big problem to talk about!
