British companies are legally required to make sure their occupational safety and health systems (OSH) are up to scratch, as they need to provide a safe working environment for all their employees.
Here, we will look at what OSH covers and how businesses can ensure their members of staff are as protected and well looked after as possible.
What is OSH?
OSH covers all aspects of health and safety in the workplace, including the protection from hazards, the prevention of accidents from work-related activities, and the treatment of health issues incurred while on the job.
Health and safety has been included in various parliamentary acts as far back as the Factory Act in 1802 to protect those working in mills. It obligated factories to provide two cleans of the premises with quicklime a year, windows for fresh air, and enough clothing and beds for staff.
Things have changed significantly since then and there are many laws now that protect workers’ rights, including the Modern Slavery Act 2015, Explosive Regulations 2014, and Control of Poisons and Explosives Precursors Regulations 2015.
These are designed to make sure employees can make it home every evening as healthy and safe as they went into work. This not only protects them and makes sure their wellbeing is not adversely affected by their job, but it also ensures they are fit and able to carry out their work activities expected of them.
Are employees still being injured in the workplace?
Despite the strict rules in place to protect members of staff, figures from the Health and Safety Executive show that more needs to be done.
Its statistics for 2023/24 revealed 138 people were killed in work-related accidents, 51 of these worked in construction, 23 were in agriculture, forestry and fishing, 16 in manufacturing, 12 in admin and support services, and 11 in transportation and storage.
The majority of these fatalities were caused by falls from height, followed by being struck by a moving vehicle or object.
As many as 561,000 workers experienced a non-fatal injury that they reported themselves in 2022/23 and a further 60,645 were reported by employers.
During the same year, 1.8 million workers suffered from work-related ill health. This included 875,000 employees who reported work-related stress, depression or anxiety.
How to improve health and safety in the workplace
Therefore, it is clear that workplace health and safety is still a problem in the UK, and the more businesses can take an active role in protecting their staff from injury, illness or fatality, the better.
That is why enrolling on health and safety courses that teach senior staff how to manage risks, how to monitor health and safety and carry out risk assessments, ways to recognise the impacts of a changing workplace, and how to develop basic safety systems are essential these days.
Managers will also learn how to justify the needs for workplace improvements, boost health and safety culture, conduct incident investigations, and make emergency arrangements designed to protect members of staff.
By having trained employees, companies are better equipped to prevent accidents and injuries to their workers and create a positive, nurturing and enjoyable atmosphere for their staff.
If you’d like to build your health and safety knowledge further, our NEBOSH General Certificate course is a great place to start. It’s designed for anyone looking to develop practical skills and gain a respected qualification in workplace safety. To find out more, get in touch with the ACT team today.
